Save Me
by dmnq8
Summary: 1900 New York. A longshoreman and an aristocrat, on opposite ends of the social spectrum. Personalities clash as they are forced to depend on each other. For roboguy45. Yaoi, lemons, cross-dressing, NaruSasu. Disclaimer in my profile.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Dedicated to **roboguy45**, a staunch and loyal supporter since the very beginning of Bonded. I hope he's pleased with this attempt of mine. He's certainly waited long enough for it.

Right, this is set in 1900. He specified NaruSasu, as this most certainly is. My first historical fiction.

*Gang, in this instance, means a group of longshoremen working together under a leader.

Onward!

P.S. Unbeta-ed. Forgive any typos I've missed pls. My beta is busy.

* * *

**Save Me**

Chapter 1**  
**

Enraged, Sasuke nevertheless stood straight and stiff, conducting himself with the proper deportment at all times. He gripped his hands behind the small of his back, taking in the other individuals in the room with an air of cool detachment. One could have said he was bored, but nothing would have been farther from the truth.

"Do you understand?" Uchiha Fugaku asked with quiet authority.

Sasuke's voice was a cultured murmur. "Of course, Father." When the patriarch of the Uchiha family only raised a questioning brow, he added, "You have honored me."

Fugaku relaxed slightly and turned to gesture at the young woman sitting with her head demurely bowed. She was bracketed on either side by her equally awed parents. "Greet your fiancé then."

Sasuke moved forward and held his hand out to Haruno Sakura. She placed her gloved hand in his and peered at him shyly from behind her fluttering ornamental fan. "M'lady."

"My lord," she replied correctly. A blush stole up her cheeks.

Sasuke pecked the back of her slender hand with the requisite kiss. Her bosom, puffed in the pigeon-breasted style that was the latest fashion of 1900, heaved noticeably at the contact. Her broad-brimmed hat, sporting an entire stuffed bird, rested on her closed knees. Her long pink hair was swept up into a loose knot on her head. He uttered some inanity that he neither remembered nor cared about as he straightened and faced his parents. They stood by the mantel. His brother, Itachi, stood to one side with his own bride, Karin.

They watched him. All of them. He'd been known for his temper in his youth, a trait his father had caned out of him most severely. That they expected some kind of outburst from him now, years after he'd mastered his more explosive responses to things, told Sasuke clearly that they were aware of how much this arranged marriage would disagree with him.

-oOo-

All through the hideously boring tea ceremony that followed, Sasuke kept his composure. He followed the ancient custom with an inward sneer at the hypocrisy; the Uchiha in America were _nisai_, second generation, but one would never know it to see them. He and his brother could be termed third generation, he supposed, but their father had been firm about establishing themselves as members of society. They followed western customs and ways of living for the most part, though both parents had insisted on teaching their boys Japanese. They had a line of successful laundry and tailoring businesses here in New York and in Boston.

This tea ceremony was the first Japanese tradition Sasuke had seen in their home in years. It was likely only done because Sakura's parents were more attached to the old ways. He sipped in silence, proud that his tea cup did not shake with the enormity of his upset.

* * *

Newly affianced, Sasuke was expected to escort his intended and her parents home. This he did with as much grace as possible, handling the reigns of his horse-drawn coach with expert ease in one gloved hand. The Uchiha were, of course, in possession of two cars, but Fugaku kept these almost exclusively for his use or for when the family went out together. Sakura sat up top with him, while his soon-to-be in-laws sat inside. The horses' hooves clopped along the cobbled streets of the suburbs as fog rolled in from the ocean.

"Sasuke-kun?"

His lips thinned at hearing the honorific. The woman insisted on speaking Japanese. He replied in kind. "Yes."

"May I compliment you on your decision not to wear a beard? I find it pleasing to the eyes."

And what did his facial hair, or lack thereof, have to do with anything? "I'm happy to please you, m'lady." He saw that Sakura ducked her head over another blush.

Neither he nor his brother wore the small pointed beards that were currently fashionable, though their father did. Asian as he was, the growth was sparse, but his father's attempt was recognized by his peers and approved of. Uchiha Fugaku always did what was approved of, and expected nothing less from his sons.

A footman ran out of the Haruno residence to assist Sakura in disembarking from the coach. Another rushed to lower the stairs so the elder Harunos could descend. Sasuke stood by with his top hat in hand, waiting to be acknowledged. When Sakura did so, he bowed and bade her goodnight. He took his leave shortly afterward and drove home in contemplation of his life.

-oOo-

At Uchiha Manor, a groom took the horses and tended to them. A servant approached him in the foyer and bowed over the frock coat Sasuke handed him. He then walked calmly up the stairs, unknotting his cravat in the process.

Once in his room, he let his manservant bring him a drink. He rolled the liquid on his tongue as he stared at a portrait of himself that his father had commissioned when he'd been fifteen. Six years ago.

He'd been a brash lad, struggling to live up to his father's expectations of him, while doing all in his power to escape the shadow of his perfect older brother. The two endeavors did not compliment each other, which had brought out his father's cane often. The thing had broken on his back shortly after that portrait had been painted, Sasuke recalled. His father had then threatened to use a horse whip on him if he put so much as a toe out of line. Sasuke had calmed down considerably, the fight gone out of him at the murderous glint in his father's black eyes. Uchiha Fugaku was a hard man. He would have whipped his younger son bloody as promised, and shipped him to the Japans to distant relatives.

Still. Looking at the hidden smirk he'd carried in that portrait reminded him of how much happier he'd been as a child. He'd never been loud or noisy, but he'd enjoyed his time. He'd been an apt student, handsome, wealthy…everything that society considered desirable.

The Uchiha were at the pinnacle of their social circles, Sasuke thought in disgust as he turned from his likeness. It would be the end of respect if he were to refuse this marriage his father had arranged. The dishonor would probably earn him an unmarked grave in the woods, courtesy of that same father.

Sasuke adjusted his thoughts. How his father had clawed his way to the position in society he currently enjoyed was never discussed or even thought about.

But just then he hated the man. He hated his control over everything in Sasuke's life, down to his clothing and what functions he attended. He suddenly wanted to be fifteen and brave again. Brave enough to defy his father, at any rate. He sat thinking this over long after his brandy was done.

* * *

Some two hours later Itachi knocked on the door. He heard movement that abruptly ceased, then the door cracked open an inch. One black eye peered out.

"Oh, it's you," Sasuke sighed in relief. His eye scanned the hall behind his brother before the door was pulled all the way open. "Come in, quick."

"I only came to make sure you're…what are you doing?" Itachi asked when he saw two trunks filled with his brother's belongings.

Sasuke spoke as he bustled about the room in a kind of controlled frenzy. He was clearly agitated, but managed to exhibit poise and clear thinking regardless. "Leaving."

Itachi shut and locked the door. Cold fear clawed his belly. "To where? For how long?"

"I don't know. Wherever the first ship leaving is heading."

"Sasuke-"

Sasuke shut the lid on one trunk with a snap. He leaned his hands on it, closing his eyes. Itachi saw his jaw working as he clenched his teeth. "I can't do this anymore," Sasuke said quietly. "Every day he kills just a little more of my soul with his demands and control. I want my life back. I want to know who _I _am, not who my father wants me to be. I'm sick of him dictating what I can and can't do. I'm a man grown, not some infant in swaddling clothes, damn it."

Itachi came away from the door, pride in his eyes. "There's the brother I've missed."

Sasuke looked up curiously. "I beg your pardon?"

"I used to admire the way you always resisted father's control tactics without open rebellion. When he finally beat you into submission I felt like he'd defeated both of us. I was always your silent champion, Sasuke."

The younger Uchiha was taken aback. "But you always seemed to agree with him."

"Doesn't mean I don't wish things were different. I take it you're not marrying Sakura?"

"No." Sasuke watched the faint smile bloom on Itachi's lips. He knew how much his brother had detested having to marry Karin.

Sasuke was further shocked when his brother announced that he was helping him runaway. Itachi helped pack his brother's things, going so far as to help him carry the heavy trunks down the stairs and into the carriage house. The servants were asleep.

The absence of the cars would be noticed. And neither young man had the keys, at any rate. They took a coach. Itachi drove. The trip down to the docks on the Hudson River was somewhat long and made in silence until the last hour of the journey, when dawn was turning the sky pink over the distant ocean.

"You might be recognized," Itachi said. "We didn't think of it at the house, but this coach has the Uchiha family crest on it. It will be recalled to the men father sends looking for you."

Sasuke waved one freezing hand. "I'm more worried about you. He'll know you helped me. What will you do?"

Itachi grinned, his breath smoking out of him in the crisp fall air. "I think I will take Karin on a trip. It's time we saw the world. Father won't object to me furthering our business ventures abroad. I'll act just as surprised as anyone when your absence is discovered. Don't mind me. I might not have shown it," Itachi said mischievously, "but I can handle myself quite well."

* * *

The docks were a noisy, abominably filthy place. The brothers held linen kerchief's scented with snuff to their delicate noses as they picked their way to a likely individual who was in the process of casting off the ropes tying his ship to the wharf. He hawked and spat at the shiny shoes of the two gentlemen. "Wha' do ye want? Can't ye see I'm busy?"

Itachi wrinkled his nose in disgust. The smell of rotting fish was overwhelming. "Where are you bound, good sir?"

"The lower isles, then Spain. Wha's it to ye? I've me papers in order."

"We'd like to purchase passage for my brother here. Are you leaving immediately?" Itachi inquired. He struggled not to faint at the sight of the blackened teeth the swarthy sea captain sported. How did these people _live_?

"Goin' out wit the tide, aye." His beady eyes roamed the expensive attire, skipped behind the two dark-haired men to the coach and the family crest emblazoned on the side. "Mayhap I have room for one…for the right price, mind ye."

"Of course," Sasuke said, stepping forward. He handed over a sum that widened the eyes of the captain and his watching crew behind him. "That should pay for a private room and three meals a day of the best your ship has to offer. I'll expect one of your crew to attend to me personally at all times, which should also be covered in what I just gave you."

The captain stared from the wad of cash in his hand to where Sasuke was already signaling the crew to retrieve his trunks from the carriage. He behaved as if he now owned the ship, its crew and the captain. Gentry, the captain thought with a sneer.

He pasted a wide smile on his face when the luggage was stored and his new passenger was giving his brother a long and emotional hug. "I'll miss you," the younger one was saying. "I'll send word to you of my whereabouts via Sai. I can trust him."

"And I'll let you know where I end up," the older one replied. "Be safe, brother."

"I will."

-oOo-

Sasuke stood on the heaving bow of the deck, watching Itachi's figure dwindle as the sun rose majestically and the ship left the Hudson, heading out to sea. By the time he went below to see about his room, land was a faint line on the horizon.

He was brought up short at finding the deck hands rifling through his belongings. He stared in outrage, unable to speak at such nerve, while the captain drawled from somewhere to his left.

"Methinks a few things need to be made clear to ye, m'lord." He held and examined a pair of Sasuke's studded cuff links as he spoke, squinting against the smoke of his pipe. "One, this here ain't no passenger conveyance, if ye catch my drift."

Sasuke saw red, storming over to his trunk to administer violence. "Unhand my things at once! How dare you presume to –" He was cuffed soundly in the head and held by both arms. Dizzy, shocked, confused, he heard the captain strolling over to him.

"Two, I never said I'd take ye on. I said I _might. _Ye invited yerself. I take the money you handed me as a donation, see. And the way I look at it, you and all your fancy things here now belong to me and my men. Once we land, I'll send a letter of ransom to yer pa for your carcass. And a carcass it will be for I can't have ye selling us out to the law, now can I?"

The captain chuckled. Sasuke saw, through the blood trickling into one eye, that he signaled to the men holding him.

He reacted instinctively, falling on the training his father had drilled into him. His captors were down within minutes and he was escaping out the door when the rest of the crew descended on him.

-oOo-

Sometime later black smoke billowed into the cloudless sky. Sasuke bobbed in the freezing water, watching the blazing ship slowly sink. He spluttered, already going numb, as he pointed himself toward land and struck up a steady pace.

* * *

"Uzumaki, get yourself and your gang to that ship and stevedore her before I replace you with Inuzuka's people," the portly wharfinger shouted.

Naruto stopped watching the men who were searching the waterfront for some lost man and signaled to his partners. He jogged up the recently laid gangplank to begin unloading the newest arrival in the port. He was shouldering a large heavy crate back to shore as Chouji, Shino and Kankurou, the men in his gang, ran past to begin assisting him.

They moved in an unbreaking line, working seamlessly together. Chouji made a crack about how Naruto could only carry two crates, while he carried three. Naruto cursed good-naturedly, but Chouji _was _the stoutest one in the gang.

It was evening. The sun turned the water's waves bloody as the last of the crates were stacked where the wharfinger, the dock overseer, indicated. Naruto watched as one of the well-dressed men who were searching for someone approached first the wharfinger, then him. He noted the look of disdain as the man picked his way through the filth on the ground, grimacing at the way his polished shoes sank into the foul mud.

"Have you seen this man?" the gentleman asked Naruto. He held up a sketched likeness of a proud-looking individual.

Naruto glanced at the picture. He stood straight, towering over the man. "No, sir."

The man moved on to the next person, asking the same question.

Kankurou came up to him. "Who are they looking for?"

Shino had come up on Naruto's other side. "One of the Uchiha heirs. I saw the coach pulling off as we came for our shift this morning, but I'm not getting mixed up in any trouble of that family. People disappear."

They watched until the annoyed wharfinger shouted at Naruto to clear some dunnage from the far side of the shore. He ran to obey, eager to be done so that he could go home and eat.

-oOo-

He stacked the driftwood by the high pile of similar scrap wood located at the end of the docks. Naruto was turning from the stack, sucking a splinter from his thumb, when a hiss stopped him. He looked over his shoulder, scanning the shadowy area behind the stack of wood that was taller than he was.

* * *

Sasuke temporarily forgot what he'd been about to say. The eyes, a bright and direct shade of blue, were hard as they regarded him. They looked at him unblinkingly, without a trace of awe or servitude. There wasn't even any shock, though he knew he must look a sight drenched and coatless as he was. The last rays of the sun picked out the color in the eyes until they were really the only feature visible on the man. That and his shock of blonde hair.

Time was wasting. Gathering his thoughts, he spoke with the air of command he was used to using with these lower classes. "I require your assistance," Sasuke said through his chattering teeth. "If you could help smuggle me from the waterfront to a place to stay I would make it worth your while."

Impossibly, the man began to turn away without another backward glance. Sasuke was forced to adopt a tone of near begging.

"Please," he bit out. "My word is good. I will pay you to aid me."

The man stopped and looked at him over one broad shoulder. The sun had completely set now, so his face wasn't visible. His voice came to Sasuke in the gathering dark. "Pay me with what? You don't look to have anything of value on you."

Sasuke noted the deep timber of the man's voice absently. "My family has money. Once I contact my brother, he will pay you handsomely."

The man remained still for a moment. "You're the Uchiha those men down there are searching for." It was a statement, one Sasuke didn't reply to. After a few minutes, the man said, "You better pay the price I ask for."

Sasuke nodded and watched the man turn away, his heavy boots thumping as he walked quickly back the way he'd come.

* * *

Naruto saw that his gang was waiting for him. It was the end of the week so they'd likely been paid their meager wages by the wharfinger. Sure enough, Kankurou handed him his portion. Naruto was counting the bills in the faint glow from a distant lamp when Kankurou hesitated before clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto…I know we've already discussed it, but I'm begging you. Please let my brother join. I know he's small, but he's a steady kid, a hard worker. He wouldn't be any trouble, I swear to you."

The blonde spoke without looking up, folding the bills into a pocket of his overalls. "No. This gang has a reputation for quick, orderly work. He'll only slow us down."

"Please, man," Kankurou begged. "My family really needs the extra money."

The plea and mention of money reminded Naruto that he had a wanted man waiting for him up the shore. He briefly considered telling his companions, but thought better of it. They would all want a piece of the pie and if this panned out he wasn't about to share the booty. They all needed money. He looked beyond Kankurou to where his little brother was waiting for him. The small redhead watched the group of men around his brother with serious green eyes. He looked slight and sickly. Naruto moved from beneath Kankurou's hand. "I'm sorry, but my answer stands."

Kankurou stepped back. "Inuzuka said he'd take us both on."

Shino and Chouji made faint sounds of disapproval, recognizing the threat. If Kankurou left their little gang, it would be a real blow. They needed him. Naruto met Kankurou's meaningful look with a piercing stare of his own. "That's because Kiba's an animal. He'll work your little brother to death and pay him shit besides. You'll forever be in Kiba's debt for doing this favor for you. He won't pay you what you make with me and your brother will be dead inside a month. If you want to leave, leave. I'm not stopping you."

Kankurou searched the cold blue eyes a moment before dropping his own and turning away. Naruto and the others watched as he went to his brother. He could be seen shaking his head and murmuring to the boy…before heading in the direction of Inuzuka Kiba's gang, who were known to work late into the night.

Shino cursed. "I didn't think he'd really do it."

Chouji said something about a lack of loyalty then turned to Naruto. "Shall we get a drink? I know a whorehouse that caters to your tastes as well, if you-" Chouji stopped speaking, flinching at the hard look that lanced his way from Naruto.

"My 'tastes' are my business. Get out of my sight."

"Right boss." Chouji hurried away, taking Shino with him.

Naruto stared after their retreating forms, feeling anger at the nerve of Chouji to mention what should never be mentioned. It fueled his anger at Kankurou and the way he'd left. He turned and scanned the docks, but none of the men who'd been looking for the Uchiha were present. He did, however, see several posters up with the man's image sketched on them. He moved closer to one and read the print. A reward of ten thousand dollars was being offered for the man's capture, dead or alive. The poster was issued by the sheriff's department, which was known to be influenced by several wealthy individuals, the Uchiha among them.

He studied the poster a moment. The sketch didn't really look like the bedraggled man who'd begged him for asylum. He supposed he could still walk away from this and simply leave the man to be found come morning.

* * *

Sasuke heard the footsteps over an hour later. He remained where he was in case it wasn't the blonde man. He needn't have worried. The man came around his hiding place and motioned for Sasuke to follow him.

His shoes had been lost in his hellish swim back to land. His feet were cut and bleeding from sneaking ashore. Nevertheless, he followed as closely as he was able to, considering the blonde's long legs ate up ground at an alarming rate.

Sasuke was led through the rat warren of slums that existed close to every waterfront. His would-be savior navigated dim alleys and passageways, staying away from traffic on the streets and any curious eyes. He kept to the shadows, moving surely. Sasuke was forced to trust him for he had no idea where he was.

-oOo-

They stopped at a building that no Uchiha would ever have set foot in. It was three stories, dilapidated, yet surprisingly with electricity. His blonde companion shouldered his way through the door without bothering to hold it open for Sasuke. He caught the rough wood as it was shutting in his face and was in time to see the man he followed marching unconcernedly up a flight of rickety stairs that leaned precariously to one side. Sasuke jumped, biting back a scream of fright as a fat brown rat scuttled over his foot. Cockroaches crawled the walls. Swallowing, he moved up the stairs in haste.

Sounds of coarse language could be heard behind closed doors as Sasuke followed the blonde to the top floor and a door at the very end of the hall. A key was fished out of a pocket and twisted in the lock. The blonde man entered and Sasuke was right behind him.

The room was revolting. Exposed laths were visible through the abundantly chipped plaster. A single naked bulb dangled from the ceiling amidst a snarl of tangled wires. A filthy sagging mattress sat in one corner. Newsprint covered one window and a clothes line stretched diagonally across the ceiling from one corner of the room to the other. Faded, shabby clothing, much like what the blond had on, hung from this line. There was a dresser with a drawer missing. That was all Sasuke cared to notice as he turned to find the blonde eating something from a rusted can he'd picked up from the floor. He shoveled the contents into his mouth without looking at Sasuke.

"What is this," the Uchiha seethed. "I asked you to bring me to a place to stay, not this…this…" He could find no word descriptive enough for the horror of this room and building. He stood perfectly still, lest he accidentally touch some filth that would contaminate him further. It was unthinkable that he was even breathing whatever foul air permeated this squalid place. He was ready to die just from having to stand barefoot where vermin actually lived.

The man withdrew a rolled up sheet of paper from his pocket and tossed it to Sasuke. Sasuke flinched, sucking in an affronted breath. "How _dare _you throw _anything _at your betters, you ba-"

"Take a look at that. Let's see if you can put two and two together," the man drawled at him. "Your name's Uchiha Sasuke, isn't it? Same as on that wanted poster?"

Sasuke stopped speaking, his eyes sharp. He had to stoop to pick up the rolled paper. Unfurling it, he saw his picture and the amount for his reward. He wasn't stupid. "Even if these posters are up and the hotels are being watched, my father's men will be focused on the ships and boats leaving by way of the river. He won't expect me to be in the city. He knows…he knows I'm aware of what he'd to do me if he found me."

The man shrugged, straddling a ladder back chair. He draped his beefy forearms over the top, gesturing with one hand. "Suit yourself. There's the door." When Sasuke didn't move, he gave a knowing nod. "Least you have sense. Let's discuss the terms of this situation, shall we? For starters, how long do you expect me to house you?"

Sasuke carefully rolled the poster up again, his jaw tight with his shame at having to ask this brute for help. "At least until my brother is contacted and can come for me."

"And how do you expect this brother to be contacted?"

A pause, as Sasuke ran through options. The blonde couldn't stroll up to Uchiha Manor himself, that was clear. "There is a man in the city. His name is Sai. Mention my name to him and bring him here. I will instruct him on what to do."

"Swell. When do you expect me to find this person?" the man asked with interest. His large, golden head was cocked to the side quizzically.

"What do you mean when," Sasuke retorted in annoyance. "Now, when else?"

There was silence as the two stared at each other.

Sasuke saw that the man followed true longshoreman tradition in being well over six feet, with enough muscle for three grown men. His hands and the knuckles on them were large, attesting to the likely sideline of illegal boxing as a means to flesh out poor wages earned stevedoring. The man appeared young, but it was hard to tell. His face was weathered and tanned. The eyes were striking.

Naruto, for his part, mused that he'd never been allowed to look upon a man so handsome at such proximity, for such an extended length of time. The gentry he'd seen had always been at a distance. This Sasuke was lean, though clearly fit. His short hair was beginning to dry, a few locks falling over his white brow. His lips, blue when he'd met him, were now turning a pale pink. His shirt, probably starched and stiff that morning, lay loose and open at the collar. His pants had a small tear near one knee and his feet were bare.

"Here's the thing," the man said suddenly, startling Sasuke. "That reward is more money than I'd make in a year. It's more money than I'd see in five years, to be frank. I'm thinking that turning you in would be a quick way to easy street, instead of me hunting up some man who will likely turn his nose up at the sight of me. You catch my meaning, Sasuke?"

"I have not given you leave to use my name," Sasuke bit out. He managed to stand straighter in an effort to remind this lowlife of who he was speaking to. "You shouldn't even be sitting in my presence. It is respectful to stand when in the presence of those higher than you."

"What I mean," the man went on as if Sasuke hadn't spoken, "is that you and I need to discuss how much you'll be paying me for my assistance. Naturally whatever sum we agree on will have to be at least double what's on that wanted poster. Otherwise, what's the point?" He blinked his blue eyes at Sasuke as if what he'd just said wasn't the very height of unmitigated gall.

But the alternative was his life, Sasuke thought. His father would probably kill him for this shame he'd brought on the family. The Haruno family and the insult he'd done them by running away from marriage to their daughter would be taken into consideration. An insult that was directly reflected on the Uchiha family.

He had money in the bank. He could pay the outrageous sum of twenty thousand dollars, but it would require Itachi getting to it. And for that he needed Sai.

"Fine. Twenty thousand dollars for you to do as I ask. You will get the money when I'm certain my brother can spirit me away."

"Great. Wanna shake on it?" The man held out his hand. Sasuke would have rather touched a live adder, a fact that was plain in the repugnance on his face.

The man shrugged, dropped his hand, and undressed to his dingy underwear. He deposited himself on the mattress and rolled over, prepared to sleep.

Sasuke felt his jaws ache at how tightly he clenched them. "If you are in agreement, why aren't you heading out to find Sai now? I will give you his address."

The voice was muffled. "Because I just finished working a 16-hour shift. I need my sleep."

"Very well, in the morning-"

"No good. If I don't report for work, it'll cause no end of problems. Give me his location and I will try to find him tomorrow night."

Sasuke was ready to take a sharp object and ram it between the broad shoulder blades. He was powerless, though. He reeled off the location of Sai's small home in the suburbs. Whether or not the blonde man heard, he didn't know. He received no answer.

He looked around for some place to sleep, but shuddered at the thought of laying his person on any surface within that room. He finally minced his way to the ladder back chair and inspected it. After a minute, he sat gingerly on the thing and folded his hands in his lap. It was better than standing.

His body was sore and tired from the swim back to the river, then to the docks where Itachi had left him. He'd entertained a small hope that his brother would still be present, but the return to land had taken so many hours. He'd needed to stop and rest often, ducking beneath the surface of the water whenever a ship passed within sight of him.

He was starving, but ignored his hunger pains. He didn't dare eat anything from this place for fear that he would inadvertently poison himself. He would be reunited with his brother shortly and would request a veal dinner the very first thing. For now, he concentrated on keeping track of the large roaches scurrying about, mindful of his bare feet. Did roaches bite?

* * *

He woke to the sound of the other tenants in the building stirring and shouting to each other. Morning light filtered through the grimy newsprint on the one window. The blonde man was gone.

He spent the day in that room, suffering sharp hunger pains and pacing the length of the small space. Toward midday the call of nature drove him to search for a bathroom. He found one down the hall, a communal affair. The sight of the toilet was enough to blind him. The floor and its yellow stains did not bare consideration. He conducted his business standing up, holding his breath the entire time. He ran out of there when he was finished, opting not to touch the filth-encrusted sink to wash his hands. The blonde man's room seemed a haven of cleanliness in comparison to that bathroom. He sank weakly into the chair and waited miserably, recovering from his ordeal.

Night came. The blonde didn't.

Sasuke resigned himself to using the mattress; his back was killing him from remaining upright for so long. The relief of stretching out horizontally outweighed whatever creatures might be inhabiting the smelly mattress.

* * *

He was woken the following morning by a rough shake of his shoulder. He sat up quickly, blinking at the stern face of the blonde man. Sai wasn't with him.

"Where is Sai?" he asked after he'd cleared his throat. His voice was raw. He'd had nothing in two days and felt dizzy.

"Dead."

Sasuke paused in the act of rubbing fatigue from his eyes. He squinted up at the blonde man, who was now standing with his arms folded, staring down at him with an inscrutable expression. "Dead?" A cold sensation settled in his chest. "No, impossible. How?"

"Authorities found him hanging in his closet by the belt around his neck."

Sasuke got shakily to his feet. "No. That means my father knew I'd go to him. Quick, you must contact my brother for me and warn him…"

Maybe it was the way the blue eyes didn't blink, or maybe it was a subtle expression in those eyes, but suspicion dispelled the fog of dawning panic from Sasuke's mind. "Not my brother?" he said in a small voice. "Not Itachi? I beg you, tell me not him?"

"He and his wife were in an automobile accident late last night. Uchiha Manor is in mourning," the man said gently, but seriously.

Sasuke turned from him. Itachi's grinning face on the night he'd helped him escape blazed in his mind, surrounded by a halo of light. A rush of hot tears sprang to his eyes as a scream tore from his throat. He let it out, screaming once, twice. Then he was quiet. He sucked it all in and breathed, shoving his grief down fiercely. It would drive him mad if he indulged it. _Oh, Itachi_.

He stared at a hole in the wall for a long time. When he turned around, he had himself under control once more. The blonde was watching him. "It was no accident. Nor did Sai hang himself. They were murdered, probably by my father."

The man didn't stir at this announcement. He only continued to watch Sasuke. Finally he spoke. "And what of our agreement? The danger around you has driven up the cost. Fifty grand or I turn you in to your murdering father."

Sasuke marveled that this swine had no respect for his grief. "You would do that?"

"You're a means to an end. I can retire with that money, buy my own ship like I want and stop working for others. So yes. I would do that."

"He'll kill me. That means nothing to you, does it."

"It'll mean forty thousand dollars less."

Sasuke turned away from him once more.

"Can you get the money?" the man asked from behind him.

Sasuke was thinking furiously. There was no help for it. He might fail, but it was the only way. "I can. But I'd need your help," he said without turning around.

"More help beyond already risking my neck for you?" The man came around Sasuke to face him. "I don't know-"

"For fifty thousand dollars you will do whatever I say," Sasuke spat savagely. He stared up at the tanned face challengingly. "You will get me out of the country and only then will you receive your money. Is that understood?"

"Half up front," was all the man said. Sasuke nodded. "What do you need me to do?"

"You're going to help me break into Uchiha Manor." When the man didn't blink, but only continued to frown thoughtfully, he asked, "What is your name?"

"Naruto."

"Naruto. We will leave tonight. Now, if you please, go and bring me food."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I tried to respond to all reviews but some of you have PM disabled. Don't know how long this will be, maybe 5-10 chaps.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 2

Naruto smiled. "Sure. Got food money?"

"Do I look like I have money on my person?"

"How do you expect me to get food for you then?"

"You will have to foot the bill of keeping me. You will be reimbursed."

Naruto went to the dresser and dug out a small, dog-eared notebook and a piece of charcoal. "All this is outside the fifty thousand, I hope you know?"

Sasuke curled his lip in distaste, surprised the creature could even write. "If that is the case, then I will need shoes, clothing and a means to clean myself."

Naruto wrote industriously. He left after asking Sasuke if 'his lordship' would perhaps care for a pot of tea. Sasuke had groaned and said 'god, yes,' before realizing he was being mocked. He turned stiffly from Naruto's contemptuous look, only relaxing when he heard the door to the room slam. Arse. Nothing but a low-life, ill-bred, leeching _arse._

Sasuke smoothed a hand over his hair in private censure. It was unbecoming of him to let the man bring him down to his level by using such language, even if only in his thoughts. He moved to sit in the chair and wait for his food and clothing.

Thoughts of Itachi inundated him with grief and guilt. His brother, whom he'd adored though Itachi had frustrated him with his constant perfection. Now he was dead and Sasuke couldn't help feeling it was all his fault. If Itachi hadn't tried to help him…

He put thoughts of Itachi firmly from his mind. He would grieve for him later. Right now, he had to focus on getting in and out of the manor alive. Then, when he was safely away and beyond reach of his father's clutches, he would establish himself. He would build his wealth and status someplace where the Uchiha were unheard of. Perhaps India. And then… then he would avenge his brother's murder.

His body ached. He was dizzy with hunger and fatigue, but his father had put him and his brother both through worse in the name of learning the family art of self-defense. He thought he'd be all right with some proper rest and nourishment. Once he was on his way from New York he would be able to have the care he needed.

-oOo-

Naruto came back an hour later and held out a loaf of bread wrapped in newsprint, a flask, and a pair of rundown things Sasuke realized were shoes. He looked up from these to find Naruto waiting for him to take some garments from his hand. It was a pair of overalls several sizes too large and a homespun shirt, also too large.

Sasuke took the bread instead. He unwrapped the newsprint and searched beneath the bread, looking for Naruto knew not what. "Something wrong with that?" the blonde asked, jerking his thumb at the loaf.

"Was there no cheese? No meat or jam?" Sasuke asked. He looked genuinely perplexed.

Naruto dropped the shoes and clothes at his feet and walked away from him. Those items had cost him half his pay this week, and all the ungrateful bastard could think to do was complain. "You're welcome."

The bread was coarse. Sasuke opened the flask, sniffed, and wrinkled his nose. "May I ask what this is?"

"Water."

"Water kills."

"No it doesn't. Wells dug near outhouses have water that kills. That's from the pump in town. It's clean."

Sasuke covered the flask. "All the same, I'd prefer wine."

"Would you like my foot up your shitter on top of that?" Naruto asked conversationally.

Sasuke surged to his feet, dropping the flask. "I will thank you kindly to keep a civil tongue in your head when speaking to me," he snapped. "Obviously you are too dense to realize this, so I will explain it to you.

"You work for me now. The amount of money I'm paying you means you are my _servant,_ you senseless gnat. If you expect to see any of it, I suggest you start behaving accordingly." Sasuke bent and picked up the flask. He thrust it at Naruto. "Now get me some wine!"

Naruto left the room again. Sasuke sat back down in satisfaction and began eating. One had to be firm with the lower classes or nothing would ever get done. This was a well-known fact.

* * *

That evening, Sasuke was forced to brave the bathroom again. Flushing toilets were relatively new yet, and the only ones that were current with the latest models were typically in the most expensive hotels and homes. What this building had to offer fell far short. Sasuke took the time to change into the clothing Naruto had brought.

"What's the plan?" Naruto asked when Sasuke came back into the room. He was lounging against the wall, arms folded.

"We need horses. Uchiha manor is miles from here."

"I'm broke. And people like us don't ride horses. We'd stand out."

"Us?"

In answer, Naruto merely flipped a hand at Sasuke's new look.

Sasuke colored in realization that he would be taken for the working class. He recovered quickly enough. "We will walk, then. Once there, we will hide in the grounds until the house is asleep. I will know where to go once inside."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"I trust your size is good for something. See that I get in and out without harm. I will be going after the money."

"Which is where?"

"In a vault. You just worry about guarding my back."

Naruto said nothing, watching the way Sasuke scratched at the feel of his shirt and grimaced at his shoes. They were work boots, really. He'd had to 'borrow' them, the cost of new boots being beyond his meager funds.

He had a few dollars put away, but he wasn't touching that for this bourgeois pig. Nor was Naruto going to continue to allow himself to be treated like dirt. He would bide his time.

* * *

Night saw the building tenants returning from various jobs. Both men waited several hours in uncomfortable silence until the tenants, and the city around them, fell silent. The hush of midnight saw Naruto leading Sasuke noiselessly out of the building and through the city streets towards the suburbs.

Once free of city lights, Sasuke took the lead. Naruto noticed how he walked upright, heels hitting the dirt smartly. He was assured of who he was and his place in the world. He'd probably never come across a situation he couldn't handle, buy his way out of, or change by virtue of his name and family connections. He studied Sasuke openly while following him. Did it hurt to crane one's neck like that, looking down one's nose at everything?

There wasn't any traffic on the main road, but they kept to the shadows just the same. Their breath ghosted out of them in pale clouds, the only sound either of them made. Naruto would have thought someone like Sasuke would need to rest after a few miles, but he stepped along as steadily as Naruto did. The blonde was forced to conclude that Sasuke was made of sterner stuff than the average aristocrat, unless he was one of those rare breeds that thrived on physical sports. The thought was intriguing.

-oOo-

They came upon the Uchiha grounds shortly before dawn. Sasuke hunkered down in the bushes, studying the house with sharp eyes. He listened. A large hand dropped on his shoulder and he nearly screamed. As it was, he turned with his palm bladed to deliver a blow.

Naruto caught the hand that would have crushed his windpipe, frowning thoughtfully at the move. "It's just me," he whispered. "If you're this jumpy maybe you should tell me where the money is and I'll go get it."

"As if I trust you."

"Fine. How are we getting back?"

Sasuke faced towards the house again, searching for anyone his father may have stationed to guard the exterior. "The same way we came, you simpleton."

"Really? Because daylight's around the corner, I figure we'd be spotted. Especially sine I'm sure we won't get away without waking yon house and your father. We'd need horses or something similar to make a quick getaway, but that would draw more attention to us, don't you think?"

Sasuke had to agree with Naruto's logic. "What do you suggest?"

"Let's hide nearby until nightfall again. Maybe we can see who comes and goes in the place and hit it when it's unoccupied."

It was a good idea. A smart idea. It rankled with Sasuke that he hadn't thought of it first. "Very well," he nodded. "We can hide in the carriage house. The servants who tend our carriages and horses live in the rooms above, but they are currently empty."

They kept low, crouching during the entire run to the building Sasuke pointed to. A few gardeners could be seen going about their daily work as the first rays of the sun began lighting the sky, but they made it to the carriage house undetected.

-oOo-

The apartments above the carriage house were quite spacious. Recently quit of Naruto's room as they were, each man felt himself to be in the lap of luxury. Sasuke sat on one of the stuffed chairs with a groan of such pleasure that Naruto was forced to turn from him, swallowing down the rush of saliva that had sprung to his mouth. He felt goose flesh prickle his skin as he saw, from the corner of his eye, the way Sasuke stretched and yawned.

Naruto walked off his budding erection by inspecting the rooms. The bathroom was of the latest design. The kitchen sported an ice box. Naruto had no such contraption in his room, nor did anyone in his building, so he spent some minutes studying the thing.

It was a wooden cabinet lined with tin and insulated with cork. A compartment in the top of the thing held ice, which cooled the contents of the lower compartments. There was a tray beneath the ice box for catching the water that came from the melting ice. Currently the ice box was empty of food. Naruto closed it. He was starving, but that was nothing new.

Sasuke had gone into the bedroom and stretched out on the bed. He slept with his arms folded, turned on his right side. Naruto lay down next to him, his body tense at sleeping in strange quarters.

* * *

He woke to hear Sasuke washing in the bathroom. He saw that it was late afternoon and got up with a grunt. He couldn't remember the last time he'd washed with soap. He sometimes took a dunking in the Hudson, but that was hardly the same.

He found clothing in the closets. There was both plain and formal. He guessed the formal wear was for when a servant had to drive an Uchiha someplace. Naruto inspected the garments and found a linen shirt, coat and trousers that would fit his large frame. He took them and set them out. He searched through the rest of the clothing.

Sasuke came out of the wash room in similar attire. He looked ten times haughtier when he was clean and rested. Naruto went to go wash up.

-oOo-

Their plan to watch the estate to see who left and when had fallen through, obviously. There was no alternative but to enter the place now. Naruto took a length of lead pipe the circumference of his forearm from his old clothing and hid it beneath the new coat he was wearing. Sasuke shook his head at such crude weaponry. The brute probably had no formal training when it came to self-defense.

The grounds were silent. It was dark. Sasuke figured his parents might be having dinner. It occurred to him that they should be preparing for Itachi's funeral as well. When was it?

A dog barked in the distance and pulled him from his thoughts. Sasuke made his way to the back of the estate, near the servants' rooms downstairs.

Entering posed no difficulty. They heard talking in the kitchens, dishes clanging, but they passed that room quickly. The smells made both men's mouths water, and Naruto actually looked behind him longingly, as if considering going back for food.

They heard the clock chime eight times. Sasuke knew his father would be in his study, sipping a brandy. His mother would be in a chair in the same room, knitting or reading. Usually he himself would be visiting a friend or engaged in a game of cards somewhere in town. The point was, the servants would be settling down, seeing to their own needs for the most part. There would be no better time to reach the vault.

But it was in his parent's bedroom. There were two floors between where they stood and that room. Sasuke crept down a hall towards the back stairs used by the servants.

-oOo-

They met a maid coming down the stairs with a tray. Naruto reacted as Sasuke was frantically putting a finger to his lips for the woman not to scream. He sprang forward and somehow managed to spin the woman around so that his hand was clamped over her mouth while handing the tray to Sasuke. Sasuke took it, wincing at the clattering from the brandy glasses, as Naruto did something that had the maid swooning in his arms. He slung the woman over his broad shoulder, raising his brows at Sasuke to ask which way they should go.

The entire episode had taken mere seconds. Sasuke was somewhat flustered, but moved to lead the way up the stairs, holding the tray carefully.

The upstairs hall was deserted. Naruto set the maid in an unused bedroom after tying her hands and feet with a sheet he ripped. He likewise gagged her mouth. Sasuke set the tray in the room and closed the door.

The third floor consisted of his parent's master bedroom suite and that was it. Sasuke knew his father kept it locked whenever he wasn't in the rooms. "I'll need to break the door," he whispered to Naruto. "It might take several tries. Watch the stairs in case anyone hears- hey!"

Naruto went to the door, placed his hand on the knob, and twisted sharply. There was a pinging snap, then the door swung open. He went inside.

Sasuke closed his mouth. He ran his eyes over Naruto's musculature, reassessing the strength the man had. Then he was in the room and thought of nothing besides the vault.

Naruto glanced at where Sasuke was approaching some square object, but he was more interested in the jewelry box he'd spotted sitting on a vanity in the next room.

The vault was actually a safe. Like all such contraptions, it stood alone, on its own stand, and was locked with a key. Sasuke did not have the key, and when he searched in the hidden board beneath the bed, he found that it wasn't there either. He looked around for Naruto.

The man was coming out of his mother's powder room. "What were you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"Checking for threats. You have the money?"

"I can't open the safe. My father usually keeps the key here under the bed in case he ever lost the ring of keys he carries around with him, but it isn't here."

Naruto went to the safe and inspected it. "This thing is cast iron, I can't break it."

Sasuke saw him disappear into the powder room again and come back with something in his hand. "What's that?"

"Hair pin. Watch the door."

Sasuke did, while also watching as Naruto inserted the steel hair pin in the safe lock. He moved it back and forth, up and down, until there was a click. Naruto carefully turned the pin and the safe door swung open. "How much thievery did you do to learn that trick?" Sasuke asked. He went to the safe.

It was empty.

There were some items inside, but not the money. The money was gone. Sasuke searched all the drawers in the safe in disbelief. His father always kept a hundred thousand dollars there in case of emergencies. He never touched it for any reason. What had happened?

"What is the meaning of this?"

Naruto and Sasuke whirled to find Uchiha Fugaku standing in the doorway.

* * *

This time Sasuke reacted first. He leapt at his father, screaming about a brother, while Naruto hung back and withdrew his pipe from his coat.

A fight ensued wherein it was obvious that father and son both had some skill in martial arts. Fugaku yelled for servants and that was when Naruto swung the pipe at Fugaku's head. He went down hard.

A lady and several maids, accompanied by a butler, appeared in the doorway. The lady screamed behind her hand. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke ignored his mother, went to the safe, and withdrew the pistol there. He pointed it at the cluster of people at the door. "Mother, tell them to let me leave unmolested." His mother shook her head, still covering her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. "Do it. I don't want to have to fire this thing, and you know I will."

Uchiha Mikoto placed her hands at her throat, stricken by the violence in her son. She saw her husband bleeding from a head wound, saw the large, menacing man who stood at her son's back, and reluctantly gestured to the maids behind her. "Sasuke, please stay with us. Your father is angry, but he'll forgive you. You're all we have now… now, that Itachi-"

"Don't say his name," Sasuke barked. His mother and the maids flinched. He froze, studying the women behind his mother. "Where is the butler?"

But the sound of shouting downstairs said the butler had managed to rouse the rest of the servants. Naruto shoved past Sasuke on his way into the hall and Sasuke was right behind him. "I love you, son!" Mikoto cried as he ran past, but Sasuke was beyond caring.

He reached the ground floor to find Naruto taking on five brawny servants and winning. Sasuke quickly searched for any valuables he could take with him, but the only things he saw were bulky silverware, fragile china, and cumbersome paintings. He heard his mother calling for him from upstairs, heard her coming down to perhaps try stopping him with more pleas, and decided they would have to make a run for it.

-oOo-

He couldn't find Naruto. He left by the front door and ran for the stables, intent on getting to his horse. He was grabbed from behind and held against a large, firm body as he passed an oak tree.

"Quiet." It was Naruto's voice. Sasuke sagged in relief, sure he had been caught.

A couple of servants ran by a few yards from where they stood, lanterns held aloft. "Check the stables!" they were heard shouting.

They stood that way, listening to the search escalate. Sasuke was uncomfortably aware of the physical contact, but didn't move. Minutes passed and then a man left the stables on horseback, riding as if the devil were after him.

"He's heading for the city," Sasuke said in alarm. "He's probably on his way to notify the sheriff!"

"Can you overtake him with your own horse?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke thought a moment. "No. It would mean putting myself out in the open and a bullet in the back."

"Then let's go." Naruto dragged him by the hand and led him through the Uchiha grounds, across the road, and onto the neighboring estate.

* * *

Miraculously, they avoided detection. The blonde was fleet of foot, despite his size. They stopped some two miles from Uchiha Manor, out of breath. There was a barn on the property. "I think this is the Wilkins' place," Sasuke huffed. "They typically go south when the weather changes. There might be a few servants around, but that's it." Naruto nodded, making his way toward the barn.

The structure had been converted to a stable. It held coaches as well as animals. A quick search showed only the animals present.

"Luck is with us," Naruto said. He then put down a huge, bulging flour sack that Sasuke only now noticed he'd been carrying.

"What's in there?"

In answer, Naruto withdrew women's clothing, food, and a smaller sack which he shoved in a coat pocket. He threw the clothes to Sasuke. "Put those on."

"I'm not-" Sasuke bellowed indignantly. Naruto was on him in a trice, covering his mouth with his hand and crowding him against a horse stall. He leaned down so his blue eyes were an inch from Sasuke's outraged ones.

"Listen and listen well," Naruto hissed. "You've botched this whole thing. You failed to get the money, had no escape plan, and neglected to take your mother hostage. She could have been held in exchange for our safe passage to a ship," he explained when Sasuke went still with anger. "The way I see it, I'm the only one from the two of us with a working brain, so you do as I say unless you want me collecting that reward money from your father. They'll be looking for two men, not a man and woman," Naruto explained when Sasuke remained silent. "Get those clothes on and we might have a chance of getting out of this alive."

Sasuke was livid, but the man had a point. He took the garments in shaking hands and held them up to the faint moonlight visible in the stable. He began undressing.

Naruto approached the horses and soothed them. His calm nature had the animals soon nudging his shoulder and whickering in welcome. Animals liked him for the most part. He set about harnessing two of the creatures to a coach, making sure the conveyance bore no sigil or family crest to identify it.

"I'm ready," Sasuke said. Naruto turned around and had to stare.

Sasuke had had the presence of mind to pad the front of the shirt with hay. It made for a lumpy bosom, if one looked closely. His body was altogether a little too angular and flat in the rear to be considered female, but the way the bonnet framed his face left a heavy feeling in Naruto's stomach. Sasuke stepped forward, the long skirt swayed, and the feeling dropped into his groin. Naruto found that he couldn't breathe.

It wasn't that Sasuke was beautiful in the garments. He wasn't. But something about seeing the man in women's attire had desire clawing at Naruto's throat, making tension settle around him until the air was thick with it.

Sasuke stopped at Naruto's expression and looked down at himself. "It's horrid, isn't it? I'll give us away."

Naruto managed to blink and turn around. "Did you see the fan?"

Sasuke held up the ornamental fan behind Naruto's back. "Yes."

"Use it to hide your face. We'll be fine if you don't speak to anyone."

* * *

Naruto drove. He told Sasuke to sit close to him on the bench and link his hand through his arm. Sasuke did this, concealing his dislike. Naruto's bicep was large and rock hard beneath his hand. He used his other hand to hold the fan to his face, watching the night from over its lace edge.

The clothes were uncomfortable, but so foreign to his body as to elicit interest in spite of himself. He felt like he was invisible, like his true self was absent and an imposter sat in his place. The skirt was confining and heavy. It was an atrocious plum color. The shirt was beige, with frothy lace at the collar and cuffs. The hay in his bosom was scratchy, but he found himself glancing down at his 'breasts' often, wondering how he looked. There had been no way to check his appearance.

Naruto concentrated on guiding the horses and breathing. Sasuke hanging on to his arm, occasionally fluttering that fan, wreaked havoc on his nerves. Once or twice a horse sped by with its rider, coming from the direction of the Uchiha estate. Their slow-moving carriage was not spared a glance. Sometime later policemen rushed by on their own horses, heading for the estate. Naruto kept his head down, letting the brim of his hat hide his face and bright hair.

-oOo-

Once in the city, it was easy to ditch the carriage and continue to Naruto's place on foot. They made it to his room and Naruto closed the door with a sigh of relief.

Sasuke took off the bonnet and held it in his hands. He turned to face Naruto and found the man staring at him. He took a deep breath. "I must apologize. You risked your life to help me yet I cannot pay you the money I promised. I can't pay you anything. I thank you for bringing me safely from my father's house, but I can't ask you to house me any longer."

Naruto folded his arms, leaning against the door. "So you're leaving?"

"I must. I can't get money from the bank or anyplace else."

"What will you do then?"

"I don't know. I'll try to head west, start over. Keep out of my father's clutches."

Naruto watched as Sasuke closed his eyes and hung his head. "You won't make it. West isn't for soft people. I know. I've tried it."

Sasuke waited, wondering when Naruto would move so he could leave.

"I said I'd help you and I meant it," Naruto continued. "I'm sure there's a rich relative somewhere that you can rob. If not, though, I'm willing to take you out of the country and leave you someplace safe."

Sasuke lifted his head. "How? You don't have money-" Sasuke stopped speaking, his eyes wide as Naruto withdrew the small sack he'd put in his coat pocket. Naruto held it open to reveal some of his mother's jewelry. "You bastard."

"A bastard who plans on buying his own ship and leaving this place forever. You can come with me if you want." Naruto replaced the jewels.

He could stay here and die or sail with this unquestionably resourceful individual, Sasuke reflected. He was honest enough to admit that he wouldn't make it on his own, Naruto was right about that.

"If you'll have me," Sasuke stammered. "I would be grateful."

Naruto was all business, bustling around his room as he threw clothes into the flour sack. "Right. So long as you know that my taking you isn't free."

"I don't have anything-"

"I'll decide payment. It will be perfectly within your means. A service, if you will." Naruto paused in the act of packing to eye Sasuke with an unreadable look.

Sasuke nodded quickly to show he understood. "Of course. You may trust that I won't go back on my word when the time comes. After all, you're keeping your word to me. I can do no less."

Naruto smiled. "Glad to hear it."

He left Sasuke in the room shortly afterward. He didn't return that night, and Sasuke was left to eat a piece of chicken he found in the sack Naruto had left. The food was mixed up with the clothes in an unsightly way, but it was still edible. He found a mashed piece of cherry pie and ate that as well. Afterwards, he lay on the mattress and tried to sleep.

* * *

Naruto hocked the jewels and got three times more than he'd expected for them. He wasted no time. After making a few stops, he rounded up his gang though the hour was late. He had them all down at the waterfront in record time. They stood stamping their feet and blowing on their hands as they listened to Naruto.

"Guys, I've recently come into some money," Naruto began. "I've bought a brig-"

"What!" Shino exclaimed. "A brig? How?"

"It's a small one, but barely used. Got her for a bargain off one of the merchants that went out of business behind that mess last year. I'm leaving America. I need a crew to sail her. We'll be doing some trade with a man I know and have kept contact with. He works in the Indies, Africa and Europe. We'll be doing a lot of traveling and the pay will be excellent. This is it, guys, the dream. What do you say?"

Shino and Chouji were dumbfounded. They agreed immediately, unconcerned, for the moment, with where Naruto had gotten enough money to buy a brig. Chouji posed a question. "A brig, Naruto, that's going to need at least a dozen hands. We're three. How will you manage?"

"I know," Naruto said. "I have a few people in mind." He stopped at a sailing ship tethered at the end of the wharf. The wharfinger inspected his papers of ownership, the seal at the bottom, and congratulated Naruto on his good fortune.

"Guess I now know why you've been absent from work," the man jested. "Smooth sailing, boy. I know you were born for it."

Naruto thanked him and boarded his ship. The sky was turning pink. He'd spent the night purchasing supplies and outfitting his vessel for departure. He'd sought his friends out last, after he'd spent two hours walking up and down his ship, in love with it already.

He turned to his friends now and regarded them happily. "Shino, you go and see if you can find Kankurou. Tell him I'll hire him and his brother both from Kiba. Chouji, I want you to find Neji, Lee and Shikamaru. Give them the same message and tell them we leave with the tide."

All of the men named lived much as Naruto did. He wasn't worried about refusal or anyone needing few days to finalize affairs in New York; they were each living hand to mouth, able to leave at a moment's notice.

"Will you be here waiting for us?" Shino wanted to know.

"Actually, I have to go and collect someone myself. I'll meet you well before it's time to leave, don't worry."

Shino waved and left, excited at this new chapter in his life. Naruto chuckled to himself as he made his way back to his room for the last time. He'd paid the landlord that evening. He was finally free, finally master of his destiny, and all because he'd decided to help some rich idiot.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: You guys would not believe the amount of research I had to do for this fic. I had to physically go down to the New York Public Library (where Butch Ino worked^^), get a Manhattan library card, and spend time researching. I've never researched in a library before. I soon learned that the books I wanted were in the science and industry library, not the business one where I was, and would take several days. By then I had gone to Barbados, and when I got back I had to request them all over again. They wouldn't have come before my flight back to this country, so...please forgive certain lack of details you find. I really did try.

As mentioned elsewhere, this fic will be updated every Saturday from now on.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 3

Sasuke was rudely awoken when the door to the room banged open. He turned over with a start, embarrassed to be found clutching the sack to his chest as if for protection. Naruto strode to him and relieved him of the sack. "Up, we're leaving," Naruto said as he slung it over his shoulder.

A moment to listen revealed the other tenants in the building stirring. Was it morning already? "What time is it?" Sasuke asked. "Where are we going?" He got up and reached for the coat he'd taken from the carriage house the previous night.

Naruto stopped him. "Do you honestly think we'll get far if you go as you are? Where are the clothes you wore last night?"

Sasuke stiffened guiltily. "I thought-"

Naruto hunted around the room until he found the garments shoved in a corner.

"-that was a one-time affair," Sasuke finished quietly. Naruto tossed the skirt and blouse to him.

"Quick. I need to be off with the tide." He stood and watched Sasuke impatiently.

Sasuke stripped, clamping his jaw around Naruto's lack of decency. The man could have at least turned around and given him a modicum of privacy. The hay was gone. He needed to use a soiled shirt Naruto handed him to pad out his chest, but he was soon disguised again. He held the fan to his face as Naruto ushered him out the door, a hand to the small of his back for the sake of any tenants who happened to see them.

-oOo-

Outside, the air was cold, the sky barely beginning to lighten in the east. Sasuke held his skirt up at the docks, proud that he'd remembered this female mannerism. Eyes were cast his way by the bustling dock workers, but Naruto led him quickly past them to a smallish ship that had several men busily working on it. One of the men saw him and Naruto and ran to the railing. "Naruto, I don't think we'll make it," the man called down to them. "Shino's not back with Kankurou and his brother."

Naruto ran up the gangway and joined in whatever preparations the other men were doing, tossing the sack to Sasuke in the process. Sasuke, who'd followed him on board, saw a lot of activity involving ropes and tried to stand out of the way while holding the sack and keeping the fan to his face to hide his masculinity. He saw one of the men stop what he was doing to look at him. The man had brown hair down to his waist, and very pale eyes. "Who's that?" the man asked, jutting his chin in Sasuke's direction.

"Never mind who that is," Naruto said distractedly. "She's my business." He ran over, grabbed Sasuke by the elbow and ushered him below the deck to a small cabin. "Stay here," he told Sasuke. "I'll be down in a bit." He closed the door firmly behind himself on his way out, leaving Sasuke alone with the sack.

The cabin was probably the captain's quarters, and as such one of the larger rooms on the ship. Even so, it was somewhat small and cramped, with a narrow bed. There was a desk with a chair, a trunk to hold clothing, and a mirror.

Sasuke walked to the mirror and inspected it. It was large, standing on its own and nailed to the floor like the rest of the furniture. The edges of the wooden frame were painted in gaudy curlicues of gilt that Sasuke thought were repulsive. The mirror looked as if it had been lifted from a whorehouse. He belatedly caught sight of himself in the mirror and was given pause.

Last night he'd felt like his true self was absent while in the guise of a female. Now that he could actually look upon himself he was shocked. No wonder Naruto's face had registered such surprise the previous evening. Sasuke had never seen a more atrocious sight. His masculine features surrounded by the bonnet, the way the skirt draped against his legs… it was mesmerizing by dint of just how ghastly it was. It made his skin crawl.

* * *

There were last minute preparations to see about, which tied Naruto up. Shino still wasn't back with Kankurou. He left Chouji to see to readying his ship so that he could find out what was taking the bastard so damn long.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Neji watched him run down the wharf. "Who was the woman, do you think?" Chouji asked.

Neji snorted. "If that was a woman I'll shave my head."

Shikamaru hadn't seen Naruto in a while. "Has he changed so much since our last job together? I didn't know he fancied men in women's rags."

"He doesn't, I don't think," Neji answered while securing a last knot. "He just fancies men."

"And he doesn't like people speaking about it," Chouji added.

"Can you blame him?" Neji asked. "If I were cursed with such abnormal tastes I'd want to kill myself."

The other two nodded in commiseration with their friend's plight. Lee came up from the hold. "The last of the provisions are stored away. Where's Naruto?"

-oOo-

Naruto knew Kiba and his gang wouldn't show up at the wharf until midmorning. They all lived in a single room that Kiba paid for. He kept his gang under his watchful eye night and day. They didn't so much as shit without his permission. Naruto located the shack Kiba called home, kicking the man's dogs aside in the process. One dog in particular, a big white beast that Kiba was particularly fond of, refused to be cowed. Naruto took his pipe from the back pocket of his coveralls and swung it as the dog leapt at him with its teeth bared. Kiba himself ripped his door open to see what the commotion was. He went white with fury at seeing his beloved dogs down, some of them suspiciously still. He raised his small eyes to where Naruto was stowing his pipe in his coveralls again.

"I want Kankurou and his brother. Now," Naruto said briskly.

Eyes back on his dogs, Kiba did not come out of his doorway. "Kankurou and his brother work for me now. They're mine."

Naruto did not take his eyes off Kiba or the way his right hand was visible on the door but his left hand was still hidden inside the shack. He considered reaching for his pipe again. "They were originally mine. I want them back. This doesn't have to turn ugly, Kiba."

"Only Kankurou was yours. His brother and… his brother never worked for you. Take Kankurou if you want, but the brother stays."

Now Kiba opened his door a little wider. He gestured to someone in the dark room. A moment later Kankurou came shuffling out.

Naruto stared hard. In the few days he'd been with Kiba, Kankurou had lost weight. He was hunched over, Naruto knew, from long hours of back-breaking work with little rest and less food. Only the heartiest survived Kiba's work ethic.

Kiba's door slammed shut behind Kankurou. Naruto opened his mouth to explain to Kankurou why they needed to hurry back to the docks, but Kankurou grabbed frantically onto Naruto's shirt, leaning into his face. "You have to save them," he hissed to Naruto urgently. "He'll kill them."

Naruto pried Kankurou's hands off of him. "I tried to get your brother too, but-"

"Not just my brother. He has my sister, Naruto. He said he'd starve Gaara if I didn't hand my sister over to him too. Then he said he wouldn't pay me or Gaara if my sister didn't bed him and his crew every night. Naruto, _please._"

Tears cut clean tracks down Kankurou's gaunt face. Without a word Naruto turned, lifted his foot, and sent it crashing through Kiba's door.

Kiba came at him with a knife the size of a small sword, handling it expertly. Naruto took a mean slice across his chest, but by then he'd broken the hand that had dealt him the blow and the arm attached to it. Kiba's crew moved toward him as one. Naruto snatched up the knife and Kiba, holding the blade to his throat. "Gaara and his sister, or he dies." He kept the blade pressed to Kiba's neck. The shack was dark yet and he couldn't see everything the shadows hid. He was sure weapons were pointed at him.

A tense few seconds, as eyes shifted. Naruto pressed the blade a little deeper, tightening his fist in Kiba's hair. Still no one moved. "Do you men really want me as an enemy?" Naruto asked softly.

"Give them to him," Kiba choked out. "Give him the bitch and the brat, and good riddance!"

Two of the shadows detached themselves to reveal Gaara and a woman, who were shoved roughly in Naruto's direction. They scuttled to him and stood behind his broad back, Gaara clutching his sister.

"Let me go," Kiba spat. "You have what you want. But if you think I'll forget this-"

"Where's my man Shino?"

Silence.

"I see," Naruto said tonelessly. "It seems you've killed him. In that case..." And he began drawing the blade against Kiba's skin.

"No! Wait! Wait, he's there! There, look!" Kiba screamed this and pointed hysterically toward another dark corner. Naruto looked. Shino was tossed at his feet, alive but unconscious.

Naruto shoved Kiba away from himself and bent to grab Shino by a fistful of the back of his shirt. He backed out of the shack, knife held ready. When he was far enough away, he slung Shino over his shoulders and jogged back to the docks. Kankurou and his family ran at his heels. The sun was almost completely up.

Kankurou stopped and stared at the ship Naruto boarded. "Are we getting on that?" Gaara whispered.

It appeared so. Naruto beckoned them impatiently, already shouting at Chouji to pull up the anchor.

Naruto did not relax until they were clear of the river and the sails were up. New York dwindled until the land was nothing but a line on the water. Naruto pointed the ship towards their first stop. He wrote in his journal the date, weather conditions and what his ship was carrying, as well as his crew members. He would need this information when he signed on with his contact's company. Until then he would keep careful track of everything. He named Shikamaru as his First Mate then went up to address his crew.

* * *

A man strode toward the wharfinger, telling his wife to wait some distance away. "Excuse me," he said.

The wharfinger turned and saw a black-haired man sporting several bruises. "Aye? And who might you be?"

The man introduced himself, making the wharfinger stand straighter. How had he missed the fine clothes naming him as gentry? "I'm looking for a man who bears this description." He rattled off hair color, eye color, and height. "He was last seen in the company of a large blond man who others say work on these docks."

The wharfinger licked his lips nervously. "I… don't want any trouble, see."

The man stepped closer to the smelly dock overseer, his black eyes glittering dangerously. "Then I suggest you tell me now if you've seen either of them."

The wharfinger nodded. "I ain't seen the one you described first, but I know the blond. His name's Naruto. He… he just left with the tide, sir."

"To what port?"

"I don't know."

"No ship leaves without filing their destination. What was the name of his ship?"

"The _Whirlwind_, sir."

The man snatched the wharfinger's clipboard and studied it. There, in bold print, was the information he sought. The _Whirlwind _was bound for Panama. He thrust the clipboard back at the frightened overseer. "I need to hire a ship."

* * *

"Everyone understands their duties?" Naruto asked.

There were nods all around. Kankurou, Gaara and their sister Temari were eating, but they nodded as well. Gaara coughed, a wracking sound that took a long time to subside. Temari rubbed his back soothingly. Naruto frowned.

Neji raised a hand. "What about your passenger?"

Naruto's blue eyes made the ocean seem warm. "What passenger?"

"That guy you got down in your cabin," Neji said baldly. When he got nothing but silence from Naruto and disbelieving stares from everyone else, he looked around. "What. I'm not supposed to ask what everyone's thinking?" He turned back to Naruto. "He's here, we all know it. He's in disguise and we all know that too. You were in an almighty rush to be off and into the wind, so I'm thinking this haste has something to do with whoever that is. If I'm part of this crew, I think I need to know what's going on. Especially if it's something dangerous."

Naruto considered throwing Neji over the side of the ship. The man was a strong swimmer. They all were. He'd forgotten how forthright Neji was. A worthy quality to have, just not one Naruto wanted to deal with when he'd had every intention of keeping Sasuke a secret. But Neji was right, he needed to be up front with them if they were going to follow him. Besides, it was dangerous and it was better to have people fighting alongside you when things got dangerous.

He told everything that had happened, leaving out the part about the fifty grand. He embellished the encounter at Uchiha manor, as well, twisting the story a bit.

Shino, recovered from the blow to his head, sucked his teeth in disgust. "And the father refused to give you the ten thousand dollars reward money when you returned his son? Ungrateful wretch."

Naruto nodded gravely.

"Can't believe he tried to kill you both," Chouji said in awe. "And now he's after you and Sasuke."

"Which means he's after the rest of us if he finds us," Shikamaru reasoned. "Don't worry Naruto, we'll give a good account of ourselves. Noble or commoner, the father will have a burial at sea if he thinks to chase us."

"So… Sasuke's staying in your cabin for the remainder of the voyage?" Neji asked shrewdly.

"Neji, I believe you need something to keep yourself occupied," Naruto bit out. Neji kept quiet.

Kankurou stood and came to Naruto as he wiped his mouth of food. "Naruto, I owe you my life and the lives of my brother and sister. Kiba won't forget this, though. He'll be after you. I just want you to know that if it comes down to your life or ours, I'll go back to him. Just keep my family safe and-"

Naruto rested a hand on his shoulder. "Enough," he said gently. "We'll be ready for Kiba if we run into him. You've been with me a long time, Kankurou. You're my friend. I shouldn't have turned you and your brother away that time. Don't worry. You and your family are safe from now on. You have my word on that."

Kankurou turned away before he could shame himself with an unmanly display. Lee gestured at Naruto's bleeding chest. "That needs to be seen to. Temari's the ship's cook, but maybe she can stitch that up?" Lee turned questioning eyes to Temari, who stood presumably to do this task.

Naruto eyed the woman. He didn't like women, they made him uncomfortable. He rarely noticed the fairer sex, but even he could see this one was different from most. There was a hardness to her features that suggested she was not meek or particularly feminine. Kiba's treatment would have been especially hard to bear, which would explain the merciless look in her eyes now. Naruto waved her away. "I think I'll let Sasuke tend to me. He needs to earn his keep."

* * *

Upon entering his cabin, Naruto found Sasuke sitting stiffly in the one chair, arms crossed. He stood when Naruto entered. "Are we safely at sea?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then I think you and I need to clarify a few matters."

Naruto couldn't imagine what could have happened to anger Sasuke in the time he'd been gone, but he noticed the man was no longer wearing the skirt and blouse. He had on one of Naruto's shirts and a pair of his pants. Both garments were so large on him that Sasuke nearly disappeared. "I'm listening," Naruto said carefully.

Sasuke inclined his head. "First, where are we going?"

"Our first stop is in Panama."

"And then?"

"That will depend on where my contact sends us once I've joined his company, and what cargo we pick up. Europe or Africa most likely. Possibly Asia."

"I see. You may drop me in Africa then."

Naruto sat on his bed. "All right."

Sasuke gave another curt nod. "So that's settled. Now then, the matter of my payment for your assistance. What service did you have in mind?"

That was something Naruto had no intention of divulging until they were on their way to one of the aforementioned continents. He'd take no chance that Sasuke would jump ship in Panama. "I'll tell you when I'm ready for you to perform the service. For now, you'll attend to me."

"Excuse me? I am no one's servant."

"I believe your debt is sufficiently high that you'll want to reconsider that."

Sasuke stared hard at the blue eyes, at the way Naruto leaned back on his hands. He'd found no weapon in the room or he'd have armed himself. Alone in the cabin and given time to think, he'd cursed himself for ten kinds of a fool. He was Uchiha. Uchiha had many powerful friends, and not all of them believed as his father did; he could have gotten assistance from one of them. Instead, he'd panicked and now he was in an even worse predicament. He'd stupidly gone and put himself at the mercy of some dock rat, and had gotten himself indebted to said rat for fifty thousand dollars when the bastard would likely have helped him for the price on the wanted poster if pushed. And now he was to provide some mysterious service to boot?

Well, he was all right there, Sasuke thought to himself. The service was probably the use of the Uchiha name to establish the bastard someplace. Something only he could provide. But he'd be damned if he'd be treated with less than his station was due. He spoke now in the confident tone he should have been using all along with this animal. "There is nothing to reconsider. I will provide your service when you request it. Until then I will be treated with respect or you will get nothing."

Naruto blinked a few times, apparently thinking. He said, "You're right. I'm sorry. I guess it's this wound. It's bothering me." He gestured feebly at the gash on his chest that still seeped blood. His shirt was red with it, as were the front of his coveralls. "It needs to be stitched."

Sasuke had seen the wound, but had not thought it serious, despite the blood. Naruto had walked in energetically, as if he weren't in the slightest pain. Now he looked to be sagging against the mattress, his strength leaving him. "Well then have it attended to."

Naruto fell back against the mattress completely. He turned his head away from Sasuke, making his voice weak, as if he were fading from consciousness. "I know the men I'm working with but I don't trust them. They may… tamper with the wound, try to make it worse. I daresay they'd love to own my new ship for themselves…"

Sasuke frowned, taking a step closer. "Naruto? Naruto!" Naruto roused himself from the edge of his faint and Sasuke breathed easier. "Are you saying we're in danger on this ship? How could you be so senseless as to hire men you don't trust?"

Naruto breathed with difficulty, eyes fluttering. "No… choice. Short notice… They'll obey me so long as I don't show weakness…"

Sasuke understood; the sooner Naruto was mended, and mended properly, the safer they both would be. He looked around. "Where is your sewing kit?"

"What… I didn't know aristocrats had nursing abilities. That's women's work." But Naruto managed to wave a limp hand in the direction of his trunk.

"Too right, it is," Sasuke said as he strode to the trunk. "My father, curse his name, used to… train… us to the point of, well, to the point where we'd need medical attention. He always left us to tend to each other."

Naruto was completely diverted as Sasuke came and knelt by the bed. He raised himself up slightly as his shirt was removed and his coveralls unhooked. His chest, and the slash on it, lay exposed to the sunlight streaming in through the window. It was worse than he'd thought, but the pain was tolerable. He hardly felt it as he focused on Sasuke's words. "Who's us?"

Sasuke squinted as he threaded a needle with coarse black thread. "My brother and I."

"You were close?"

"Extremely. Do you have whiskey?"

"Bottom of the trunk." Naruto waited while Sasuke retrieved the bottle. "I didn't say it before, but I'm sorry he died."

"So am I." Sasuke paused after uncorking the bottle, looking down at it. "All I wanted was to be free. Of my father, of his controlling ways, and of my detestable life. And see the mess I've made. My brother is dead, I'm a fugitive and likely disinherited in the bargain. I honestly don't know what service I'll be able to render you in my condition." Sasuke seemed to come to himself. He upended the bottle of whiskey without warning on Naruto's long gash. He kept pouring until the wound was clean and the bottle empty. Naruto hissed air between his teeth at the burning sensation.

Using clean linen, Sasuke blotted the wound free of whiskey and blood and set to work. His hands were steady, nor did his eyes flinch from what he was doing. Naruto watched him, feeling the needle pierce his flesh and draw the edges of the wound together.

His life was one of need. It always had been, even when his mother had been alive. They'd never had much, but his mother had impressed upon him the need to survive by whatever means necessary. Naruto supposed there were worse men than him, but he knew he wasn't the best either. Look how he'd lied to his crew about Sasuke, keeping quiet about the money he might receive. He was lying to Sasuke right now about their situation and he was on a ship bought with stolen jewels. He knew perfectly well Sasuke would balk when it came time for payment, too, yet he intended to collect anyway.

He'd lived his whole life by shady means. It was the only way to survive. He wasn't as bad as Kiba, but that was hardly something to be proud of. Sasuke, though, was another matter.

Haughty he might be, but he had more honor than Naruto. If their positions had been reversed, Naruto would leave his wound to fester and take over the ship. Or else bribe it from him by some other means. He didn't know whether or not he should be disgusted by how quickly he'd turned manipulative at encountering a noble. He hadn't known he was capable of the things he'd done in the last few days. He'd never interacted with someone who had more than him to find out. The people he knew consisted of people of his status or lower. Among members of his own class, there was never any need to do ought but work as hard as you could and make sure no one got ahead at your expense. He was known for being tough, hard-headed and no-nonsense, but this? He'd never stolen more than food when he'd had to, or warmer clothes during winter. Sasuke was right to call him a lowlife. Next to Sasuke's virtuous upbringing, he was little better than a thinking beast. _Well, _he thought as Sasuke finished stitching him. _It's too late to save me. And I _will _collect payment._

-oOo-_  
_

Sasuke felt as if the walls were closing in on him. Naruto stared at him most rudely, refusing to look away. The cabin was quiet save for their breathing and the sound of the ocean outside. The room dipped and swayed with the motion of the waves. When he was finished stitching the wound closed, he snipped the thread he'd knotted and set the needle and scissors aside. He took up more pristine linen and asked Naruto to sit up so that he could wrap his torso. Naruto complied.

He had to reach around Naruto's bulky body to pass the roll of white cloth behind his back, which brought his face close to Naruto's chest. He glanced up to find those direct eyes on his face, gazing downward. Sasuke murmured an apology, trying not to touch that tanned skin that seemed to be feverish with its heat. He could not remember ever having such personal contact with anyone outside his brother. It was indecent.

At last he was done. The cloth was a stark contrast against Naruto's chest. Sasuke saw other scars, some white with age, others puckered from inexpert tending or stitching. Naruto's arms were corded with muscle, veins running along his biceps and over his forearms. His shoulders were broad and heavy, and also scarred. His eyes traveled the strong column of Naruto's throat, to his chin, and finally to his eyes, which were looking at him steadily.

"What are you thinking?" Naruto asked mildly.

"That you seem to have been in many fights. What are you thinking?"

Naruto's eyes lowered down Sasuke's body, rose slowly up it again. "That's probably best left unanswered for now."

Sasuke let the matter drop. "I need clothing."

"What's wrong with what you have on?"

"It's yours. And ill-fitting."

Naruto considered letting him remain in the clothes anyway, but then decided against it. If he wanted Sasuke to pay him, it would be better to accommodate him in other areas whenever possible. Besides, the man had done an excellent job of sewing him up. "I have nothing your size, but maybe one of my crew has something that would fit. If not, I will pick up clothes for you when we land."

Sasuke inclined his head. "Thank you. Where is my room?"

Naruto paused in the act of shrugging into another shirt. "You're standing in it."

"This is your room."

"It's the only room available besides the bunks lower down. Do you want to sleep with the crew?"

Sasuke thought about it. "If I have my own bed, I will tolerate it for the nonce."

Naruto grit his teeth. He didn't want Sasuke sleeping away from him. "Your safety-"

"I can defend myself."

Naruto relented. "Fine. Say nothing of our monetary arrangement, though."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto led him up to the main deck, where Sasuke was stared at some more. Then the long-haired man Sasuke had seen on his arrival stepped forward.

"Well, since you're penniless now you're no better than the rest of us," this long-haired man said. He stuck out his hand. "Hyuuga Neji."

Sasuke refused the hand but dipped his chin in a modified greeting. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"We know," Neji said blandly. He turned to Naruto. "There's seven hands and Temari. She knows nothing about sailing. Neither does Gaara. We're short. I say we put Sasuke to work."

Naruto considered it. They _were_ short and putting Sasuke to work might make him more malleable. "Show him what to do."

Sasuke balked. "I'm no sailor."

A beefy man with a ready smile clapped Sasuke on the shoulder, leading him away. "You have two hands, and that's more than good enough!"

* * *

Naruto watched Chouji showing Sasuke the rigging. The rest of his crew gathered around him. "What are you going to do with him?" Shino wanted to know.

"He'll be sailing with us to our first major port. And tonight he'll be sleeping amongst you. Beyond that, you don't need to know. Get back to work."

They did, while managing to notice how Naruto's eyes followed Sasuke around everywhere.

"Passenger, he says," Shino snorted.

"Did he seem a mite pissed when he said Sasuke would be sleeping down with us?" Shikamaru queried. He steered the ship expertly. The rest were clustered around him, trying to appear busy. There was no actual work for the moment, unless Shikamaru said to alter the sails. They were just off the coast for this short trip down to Panama. The real work would come when they struck out for the other side of the Atlantic.

"He did, didn't he," Lee confirmed. "It seemed like he was wishing Sasuke would sleep up in his cabin with him."

Neji propped his chin in his hand, cupping his elbow. "I love intrigue. I say we help our buddy out. He's giving us dream jobs at sea, after all, and feeding us on his own dime until we begin making money. It's the least we can do. Let's make sure Sasuke finds sleeping amongst us distasteful."

"That shouldn't be hard," Kankurou said. "Did you see the way he turned his nose up at us?"

Gaara's barking cough interrupted their plans. Kankurou went to him, but the boy stopped before too much longer. He raised watery eyes to his older brother. Kankurou ruffled his hair fondly.

"Sounds like fun," Neji said when a course of action had been settled on. "I say we place bets to see how long before Naruto manages to bugger him. Any takers?"

A chorus of voices broke out, naming sums and measures of time.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Seems you all like this O.O Thanks so much for all the great encouragement regarding my research! (such as it is -.-)

note: captain's who'd successfully navigated the treacherous waters of Cape Horn were allowed to pierce their left ear with a gold hoop.

*My Beta didn't get this back to me before the deadline, so if you see some typos, pls forgive me ^_^'

* * *

Chapter 4

Dinner was bread, cheese and cold roast chicken, with the first cider of fall. It was better fare than Naruto's crew had seen in months, even years for some of them. They ate heartily.

Naruto watched them eat, knowing that a well-cared for team was a team that would die for you. He might be a morally gray bastard on occasion but Naruto liked to think of himself as trustworthy. If he said he was going to do a thing, then he did it. He'd said to each of his crew when recruiting them that he'd take care of them and he was. He was accustomed to being in charge of his gang on shore, but this was different. Now he was a Captain, an employer. He was responsible for their lives and meant to take that responsibility seriously.

It was interesting to see how his crew interacted with Sasuke. Neji got right in his face and spoke loudly of things that were none of his business, chewing with his mouth open and spraying food. Shikamaru, Lee and Shino were quieter, speaking respectfully. Chouji was jovial, patting Sasuke's leg often. There had been no clothing to lend Sasuke, but Temari had said she would alter the clothing he had on so it fit better. She stared at Sasuke a lot. Naruto noticed that much of the belligerence was gone from her eyes while she did.

Naruto ate his food slightly apart from them as he observed. Sasuke responded politely to questions asked of him, unless they were too personal. He did not comment on Chouji touching him, but the touches were noted, Naruto saw. He also saw that Sasuke regarded Neji with dislike, but remained courteous, even to him. Sasuke had offered his thanks to Temari when she'd said her bit about his clothing. He ate delicately, breaking small pieces of bread off his hunk and using the pieces to pinch off small portions from his chicken. He chewed with his mouth closed and did not speak unless he'd swallowed what he was chewing. Naruto found this process captivating. He'd never seen anyone eat like Sasuke. It was the same way he'd eaten back at the room in New York, even though he'd been starving then.

"So what kind of women do you like?" Neji asked Sasuke as he roughly shoved cheese in his mouth. "Besides the uppity kind."

Sasuke delicately wiped a bit of cheese from his cheek that had flown from Neji's lips. "Uppity?"

"You know," Neji waved his hunk of bread now. "Upper class. Nobles."

Sasuke gave it some thought. "A woman who's quiet. Intelligent. One who does not conform to society's notion that helplessness in women is desirable to all men."

That earned a few moments of silence. Sasuke cautiously sipped his cider. It was a drink of the lower classes, to be sure, but he found it quite palatable.

"My sister is exactly as you describe," Kankurou grinned. "She's used goods, but you're welcome to her."

Sasuke looked at the filthy woman and repressed his shudder. Her blush disturbed him and sent the other men roaring with laughter.

Neji wiped his tears away. "Seriously, though, I have family who are nobles. Back in Japan. My uncle's the uh…the whaddayacallit. The local lord of our province?"

"_Daimyo_," Sasuke supplied, looking at Neji with new interest.

"Yeah, the _daimyo_, and his daughter, who happens to be my cousin, is also just like you described with the added bonus of being just as high in station as you. You want her for your wife? It would bring my side of the family a lot of honor aligning us with the Uchiha."

"You're from Japan?"

"Nah, my family is. I was born in Europe, while my uncle was over there trying to establish some business dealings. He and my dad had some falling out when they went back to Japan, so the entire branch section of the Hyuuga family was exiled. Me and my dad ended up here. He's gone now. He insisted I speak English at all times. Said it would land me a job and he was right. My Japanese isn't so great anymore. So what about my cousin? She was small last I saw her, but still quiet and smart. You want her?"

Sasuke had listened to all of this with great attention. "Why are you trying to marry me off? I'm not ready for marriage. Marriage is one of the things I'm running away from." Sasuke searched for a linen napkin to wipe his hands with. He found everyone else sucking their fingers clean and wondered if he'd eventually be reduced to such base behavior. He folded his hands in his lap for the time being.

"Neji," Naruto said into the silence. "I think I'll leave you in Panama. You can be my liaison there while I'm traveling the seas."

The silence deepened. Naruto was not one to cross, and if the edge to his voice and the daggers he looked at Neji now were any indication, he'd definitely been crossed.

Neji swallowed, turning slowly to face Naruto's frowning eyes. He, along with everyone else, had taken a liking to Sasuke. The man was actually quite personable, but that was no excuse to forget that Naruto clearly had an unspoken interest in him. And if Naruto had an interest in someone, then the man was off-limits until further notice. Not that any of them preferred men. And he'd just gone and suggested marriage to the man. Within plain sight of Naruto at that. Being grounded in Panama would be getting off light. Neji knew he'd gone too far. "I just meant that if you weren't…"

But no. He couldn't bring up Naruto's orientation by back-tracking on his statement about marriage, nor could he call attention to Naruto's interest in Sasuke with Naruto himself present. The man always behaved as if he were normal when everyone knew he wasn't. And he didn't think Sasuke himself had a clue. To bring up Naruto's interest and alert Sasuke might have the Uchiha trying to leave, something Naruto clearly didn't want. Neji might as well jump ship at that point. He'd be shark bait in Naruto's opinion, and there was no one aboard who would go against Naruto to come to his defense.

Naruto stared at Neji's mouth opening and closing. Everyone else, all except Sasuke anyway, stared into their laps or at any remaining food they had. Naruto offered a solution.

"I will consider it. It might be that you prove too useful on my ship to ground you, Neji. Of course, I _will_ need a liaison anyway, so I will be monitoring everyone closely."

The message was clear: Neji had damn well better make himself invaluable if he wanted to keep his job. And if anyone _else_ came between him and Sasuke, they'd be off the ship.

Sasuke looked back and forth between Neji's lowered face and Naruto's unyielding gaze. Something was going on. The tension was thick enough to cut.

* * *

Later, he got to see what the bunks were like. Shikamaru had first watch, so he was absent, but the rest of the men and Temari slept in tiny hammocks affixed to the wall in the hold. Sasuke didn't know why he'd envisioned actual beds. His one trip on a ship had been when he'd gone to Europe with his brother. That was an obligatory part of a nobleman's education, wherein they became acquainted with sex. It was unthinkably improper that he should sleep in the presence of a woman not his wife, or that Temari should sleep among so many men. Her brother slept in the hammock next to hers, but still. Brother and sister were not supposed to sleep together. Nor was her clothing correct in any way. She had on a dirty dress that came to her calves, exposing her ankles clearly and the lower part of her legs. Why, the shape of her body was visible through the thing, with no concealing layers of petticoats or knickers whatsoever.

While this glimpse into the lives of the lower classes was riveting, Sasuke didn't know if he would be able to remain objective in the presence of such impropriety. He saw Temari folding the clothes she was altering for him into a neat pile, as Gaara asked if he could sleep in her hammock with her.

Sasuke had the brilliant idea to give her the skirt and blouse he had worn. It was finer clothing than any Temari had ever owned, of that he was sure, and he certainly had no use for the garments. Temari received his gift with tears in her eyes and promised to stay up the entire night altering Naruto's clothing for him. He accepted her thanks with a small bow of acknowledgment. Kankurou and Gaara looked at him thereafter with gratitude and the utmost respect for having been so thoughtful to their sister. "We are at your service, my lord," Kankurou said with a deep bow.

To say Sasuke was pleased to see people who knew their place was an understatement. "I'm afraid I'm unable to pay for service at the present time," he said regretfully.

Kankurou straightened and looked Sasuke in the eye. "I can tell you're an honorable man, my lord. I know you'd pay whatever was owed when funds became available to you again. Take my brother here as your personal servant. He knows nothing about sailing and is a bit sick from Kiba's treatment. He'll do whatever you say. I think he'd get well quickly if he had an easier job." He pushed Gaara gently towards Sasuke. Temari and the other men stood behind Kankurou, watching.

Sasuke looked the boy over. He was pallid, but seemed earnest. He met Sasuke's eyes without flinching, which showed strength of character. "Come here," Sasuke said kindly. "How old are you?"

"Twelve, sir." Gaara did not stutter or show nerves.

"Can you read or write?"

"Yes, sir. Both. My father taught me before he died."

"Are you afraid of Naruto?"

Here, Gaara hesitated. "Begging your pardon, sir, but are you?"

Sasuke's eyes gleamed. "He's a strong man, to be certain, but I think I can handle him should the occasion arise."

"Then no, sir, I won't fear him if I'm under your protection." Gaara said this simply.

"Such a cunning lad," Sasuke said approvingly. He'd asked if Gaara feared Naruto because if the boy did, Naruto would be able to command him to do anything despite Gaara being in Sasuke's employ. Wisely, Gaara knew this and knew that should his captain become violent at the news of his new job he'd be safe in Sasuke's care, if Sasuke felt he could physically handle Naruto. It did Sasuke's heart good to have such an astute manservant. The boy's tender years also insured that Sasuke would be able to train Gaara to his ways. He smiled at Gaara now. "You will acquire a notebook. In it, you will write down your daily wages, which I will tell you shortly. When I am restored to my wealth, I will pay you what I owe you. You are of course free to leave my service at anytime."

Gaara smiled the first smile Sasuke had seen on him, perhaps in answer to Sasuke's own smile. "Then you'll have me even though I will have to learn how to serve you, sir?"

"Most assuredly. I will speak to Naruto in the morning and let him know you no longer work for him."

"I don't think he will like that," Gaara said in a quiet voice.

Sasuke turned now to inspect the hammock he'd be sleeping in. "No, I doubt he will, but that is my concern."

The ones who'd watched this enthralling exchange all looked at each other now. They couldn't, in good conscience, make nuisances of themselves to Sasuke. Not when the man was such a nice fellow. They made a silent agreement then and there to be on their best behavior around Sasuke.

-oOo-

Silence settled around the tight quarters the crew was sharing. There were other bunks in another room for other sailors, common sailors, but as yet the _Whirlwind_ had very few men on board.

Sasuke tried to relax his body, but the hammock was dreadfully uncomfortable. No matter which way he shifted rest eluded him. He finally settled on his back, the only position the hammock really allowed, and concentrated on his breathing. Sleep would come eventually. After all the hammock was still preferable to Naruto's room back on land and the smelly mattress it had contained.

A loud _fraaap _sound rent the air, startling Sasuke into opening his eyes. It had come from his left. Turning his head, he found Chouji shifting in his sleep. Another similar sound escaped his hind quarters, this time followed by a sulfuric odor that had Sasuke holding his breath.

Kankurou hawked and spat over the side of his hammock onto the very floor, paused, then gave a long drawn-out snort as he sucked mucus up his nose and into the back of his throat. The hawking sound of Kankurou clearing his throat of phlegm was even longer this time, protracted and painfully disgusting to listen to. Sasuke watched in morbid fascination, a hand to his grimacing mouth, as Kankurou slowly worked the phlegm off his tongue and onto the floor in a big yellow wad. Kankurou resumed sleeping soon afterward, noisily snorting excess mucus and swallowing it.

Sasuke saw the men scratching themselves in private areas, saw some even doing more than scratching, and closed his eyes, affronted.

Someone else broke wind noisily. Kankurou snorted and hawked.

"Gaara," Sasuke said as he sat up in his swaying hammock. "Come. We will sleep upstairs in Naruto's cabin."

Gaara, who'd been lying in Temari's hammock while she sewed by lantern light, rose and came to him immediately. Temari came also, saying she would alter Sasuke's clothes in Naruto's cabin. When Sasuke looked at her askance, she blushed again.

* * *

Sasuke found Naruto at the wheel, Shikamaru up in the crow's nest. Naruto tipped his head when he heard what Sasuke had to say. "What gives you the right to take over my crew?"

"I didn't. I only took this one child, who wasn't much help to you anyway." Sasuke hugged his arms. The night air was frigid on the water.

"There are countless jobs Gaara can do on this ship. He's my worker, not yours. Tell him you can't accept him."

"I will do no such thing."

"Fine. Since you're taking him from me, you need to pay me for him," Naruto conceded. He'd just had an idea, one inspired by the apparent cause of this current mess.

"Another service?" Sasuke asked skeptically.

"Yes."

Sasuke waited for more, but Naruto said nothing else. "Very well. I've decided to take you up on your offer of sharing your cabin. The bunks simply will not do. Gaara, as my manservant, will remain with me at all times-"

Naruto was shaking his head. "He stays with the rest of the crew. My cabin will barely fit the two of us."

"How is he to serve me if he isn't with me?"

"Not my problem."

Sasuke fondly contemplated crushing Naruto's head with the anchor. He felt warm now with his anger. "I see. You're right, it isn't. I will remain in Panama when we arrive, and Gaara as well. I'm sure an educated man such as myself will be able to find employment. I will suffer your petty power plays no more. Good night." Sasuke turned and left.

-oOo-

Naruto waited an hour, then gave the wheel to Shikamaru and called Shino up from the bunks to be lookout. He went down to his cabin and found Sasuke sitting on the bed. Gaara sat on the floor at his feet. Temari sat at the desk, altering clothes for Sasuke by the light of the lantern.

They looked up at him. Naruto cleared his throat importantly. "Gaara can remain with you during the day, Sasuke. At night, he leaves this cabin. Is that acceptable to your lordship?" He said the title with a sneer.

"It is," Sasuke said, turning back to Gaara. He resumed whatever tale he was telling the boy.

Naruto waited a moment, rolling his eyes. "It's night now, so the cabin should be clear of everyone except me and Sasuke."

Temari and Gaara stood and left, though Gaara looked to Sasuke for his nod first. Naruto noticed this with narrowed eyes, and also heard the boy settle down just outside the door. He shook his head.

Since he was already on the bed, Sasuke stretched out beneath the sheet and woolen blanket. The pillow was stuffed with untreated sheep's wool, and thus lumpy, but it was serviceable. He turned to face the wall, holding the blanket securely under his chin. It was considerably more comfortable than the hammock had been. He sighed in contentment, the rocking motion of the ship lulling him toward sleep already.

He heard Naruto undressing, but paid it no mind until he felt the man climbing into the narrow bed with him. There was absolutely no extra room on the thing. He turned over in confusion. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Sleeping in my bed," Naruto answered. He had the lamp with him. He extinguished it and set it on the floor near the bed.

"But I'm currently in the bed," Sasuke said as Naruto took the pillow from beneath his head. He sat up.

"So?"

"So there's no room for both of us, or can't you see that?" By which he meant Naruto was touching him with his leg and hip.

Naruto adjusted his head on the pillow to fix Sasuke with his complete attention. "Where do you suggest I sleep?"

"On the floor."

Naruto saw that Sasuke was serious. He ran his gaze over the long underwear, also Naruto's, that Sasuke had on, wondering if his chest was as free of hair as his face. Naruto didn't have a lot of body hair either. The thought of sliding his chest along Sasuke's body was a crotch-quivering enticement, one that led to more elaborate thoughts of touching Sasuke everywhere. His body warmed immediately, and his cock stirred against his thigh. He could feel himself beginning to leak the longer Sasuke held his gaze.

He blinked, dispelling the small fantasy. "Why don't you sleep on the floor? It's my bed, after all."

Sasuke didn't want to bring up his station again. He felt he'd cited it often enough as it was. If this cad refused to treat him accordingly, then so be it. He was no beggar. He simply got up, went to the door, and told Gaara to fetch him a blanket from the bunks below, if there was one to be had.

Naruto heard him tell the boy to get one for himself as well, seeing as Gaara had been lying on the cold planks with nothing.

Gaara came back shortly and said there was only one blanket, a thin one, which he held out to Sasuke.

"Keep it," Sasuke told him. "You're ill. Wrap yourself securely and stay out of the wind." He shut the door gently. Naruto watched Sasuke lie on the floor and settle himself for sleep.

Naruto turned on his back and frowned at the ceiling. Why did he feel like shit?

* * *

They reached Panama a few days later. The weather had warmed the farther south they'd traveled. Naruto left his crew on board as he went into town and located his contact.

-oOo-

Kakashi looked up when the bell on his door jingled. "Naruto?" he said in disbelief. He stood quickly and went to shake his hand. "My god, it's been years!"

That it had. Kakashi had owned his own ship years ago. Naruto had been his apprentice on it from the age of seven, learning all he could. He'd been fifteen when his mother had gotten sick. He'd had to stay ashore and take care of her. She'd died shortly afterward, but by then Kakashi had settled in Panama to set up his own small company. Kakashi's company, in turn, worked for a larger operation. He'd sent Naruto a letter when he'd first started, saying the boy had a place with him anytime he was ready.

Kakashi listened to Naruto's account of his ship and her cargo capacity with pride. "Of course you can sign on. I'll have the contracts drawn up and witnessed within a few days." He went to a large ledger on his desk and pored over it. "Let's see…the ships to Lisbon and Madiera have already left. I have a few ships going to Japan that are also leaving late. Your ship is small, so you wouldn't be carrying iron and steel like they are, but I have soybeans that need to go over." He looked up at Naruto. "You would be stopping in Osaka first, then Pusan, Tienstin, Shanghai and Hong Kong. You'd be bringing back vegetable oils and wax, possibly some pigments if you can find them. Let us discuss salaries."

Naruto settled down to conduct business.

* * *

Back on the ship, Naruto gave his crew permission to spend two days ashore. They'd be leaving on a long trip shortly; he was sure they'd want to get as much whoring in as possible before they left. He handed clothes he'd bought to Sasuke and watched the man nod mutely in thanks. Sasuke hadn't spoken to him since his first night on the cabin floor.

Gaara disappeared for the two days, scaring his brother and sister badly, and making Sasuke worry. When he came back, he had on new clothes himself, though they were obviously second or third hand. He had a spare shirt, coat and pants tucked under his arm. He also had on sturdy shoes a few sizes too big and a few coins in his pocket. "I hired myself to a farmer and helped him harvest some crops," Gaara said when he was questioned sharply by Kankurou. "I'm personal servant to a lord now, I can't shame him by looking like an orphan."

Temari had slapped him hard, making him cry silently, then hugged him fiercely. Sasuke waited until they left Gaara alone, before walking up to him. "You have a sense of pride and great initiative," he told Gaara, tilting the boy's chin to view the hand print on his cheek. "You are a worthy servant, Gaara. You make me proud." Gaara beamed with pleasure.

* * *

Kakashi had the contracts ready by evening of the third day. He outfitted the _Whirlwind _with provisions, a dozen more common sailors, and her specialized crew with a small ten percent advance on their salaries. Naruto was introduced to the captains of the other ships that would be sailing with him, Genma, Raidou, and Aoba. Their ships dwarfed the _Whirlwind_, and as such would be riding lower and moving more slowly. The trip to Japan was expected to take several weeks, if not months. All was in readiness for the small contingent to sail for the following morning. The route was discussed by the captains and Second Mates.

"It has to be the Strait of Magellan," Naruto was saying. "I haven't sailed a long voyage in a while and even the most experienced get wrecked going around Cape Horn."

Genma shook his head, looking down at the map he and the other captains were grouped around. "Our ships are too big. We need the maneuvering room of the Cape. We won't make it through the Strait."

"We can if we're careful," Aoba offered.

"Too risky," Genma countered. He turned to Naruto. "Look, I'm leading this expedition. I have experience, and I've made it round the Cape several times. " He brushed his hair aside and pointed to the gold hoop in his left ear to illustrate. "Kakashi says you were his brightest pupil. You'll do fine. Trust me on this, all right?"

Naruto reluctantly agreed.

* * *

The following morning, before they set sail, Naruto assigned the men who'd come down with him specialized jobs. "Shikamaru, you're First Mate already. Chouji and Shino are Second Mate and Watchman respectively. Lee, I need you to be Sailmaker, you're the best at that. Temari is established as Cook. I need someone to be Gunner. Neji is…where's Neji?" Everyone looked around.

-oOo-

Neji was running from the whorehouse, fully aware that he was late. His head was down, trying to button his pants, when he ran into an individual standing on the docks. "Damnit, watch where you're…my lord." Neji amended when he saw the man was dressed in a top hat and coat. "My apologies."

"Where are you heading?" the man asked him, looking between Neji and the line of ships Neji had been running to. He pointed with a gloved hand. "Are you employed on that ship, the _Whirlwind_?"

Neji suddenly remembered Naruto telling them that the Uchiha Patriarch would be after them. He saw no sigil matching the Uchiha fan on this man, but he could well belong to that family. "Uh…no."

"You're lying. I'm looking for a man named Uchiha Sasuke. Is he on that ship?" Several bills were held out to Neji.

Neji looked at the money, up at the serious black eyes, at Naruto's ship. He was in enough trouble with Naruto. "I don't know who you mean. I don't work on that ship."

"I think you do. I will accompany you. My name is Uchiha-"

Neji punched the man, who caught his fist and launched a move of his own. Neji's branch of the Hyuuga family had been protectors and bodyguards to the main branch. It had been years since he'd seen his homeland or needed to rely on the moves he used now, but he remembered his lessons well. His body was rusty and his opponent was very good, or the fight would have been over as soon as it started. He finally managed to swing his leg across the man's already bruised cheek, which effectively ended the fight. The man dropped to the street, dazed, and remained there. Neji snatched up the fallen money, and ran as if the devil were after him back to the _Whirlwind. _

-oOo-_  
_

Naruto was pacing on deck when Neji scrambled on board. "Where in hell have you been?" Naruto demanded.

"I think Sasuke's father just tried to ambush me," Neji said quickly, gesturing at his bloody lip. He held up the money. "He tried to bribe me for information, asking if Sasuke was on this ship and if I worked here. I knocked him out, but we have to go now."

Naruto nodded, already shouting for the anchor to be pulled up and the rest of the crew to make their preparations. The other captains called inquiries across their decks, to which Naruto hollered a brief response about a matter they had discussed. Neji guessed Naruto must have told them that there was a possibility of pursuit. The other captains bustled to be off, commanding their own crews urgently.

"You're Boatswain," Naruto told Neji as he passed him.

Sasuke, who'd been on deck during Neji's account of his whereabouts, stopped the long-haired man as he was passing. "Was it really my father? What did he look like? Did he ask for me by name?"

Neji looked around at all the activity taking place, clearly longing to lend a hand. He answered distractedly. "Yeah, he said your name. He was dark-haired and dark-eyed, dressed to the nines. Who else would it be? Your father would be the one chasing you, right?"

"It might have been a lawman or some other person he hired. I can't see him coming down here himself. Did he say his name?"

"He said he was Uchiha. That's all I cared to hear. I left him back there," Neji gestured toward the dwindling port. He then left to see to whatever duties a Boatswain had. Sasuke watched him go, then turned back toward the port. He saw a man standing still amongst the activity of the wharf, looking toward the _Whirlwind. _The man was shouting something, his voice tiny with distance. The sound the water made as it lapped at the hull further made hearing difficult, but Sasuke could just make out his name.

He shivered. To think he'd come so close to falling in his father's grasp.

* * *

The man could see Sasuke standing at the railing on deck of the swiftly receding _Whirlwind. _He frowned in frustration. So close! Settling his hat on his head, he turned and began looking for someone in charge. He needed to know where that ship was going and how soon he could follow.


	5. Chapter 5

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 5

A day and a half out of port, Neji was taken aside by Naruto and questioned again more thoroughly. The _Whirlwind _sailed at the head of the cluster of ships for this Japan run. The common sailors Kakashi had supplied Naruto with did much of the day-to-day chores that comprised sailing the brig, so the _Whirlwind's _special crew could tend exclusively to their duties. Thus, Naruto found Neji instructing Sasuke on the duties of a Gunner, showing him how working the guns on a ship was different from the firearms the Uchiha was probably accustomed to.

Naruto pulled up short. "Who made him Gunner?" He and Sasuke still hadn't said two words directly to each other since the sleeping arrangements.

"I did," Neji answered. "As Boatswain."

Naruto had to admit that Sasuke would probably make an excellent Gunner. He seemed like a meticulous, astute individual, which was ideal for watching over the weaponry, such as it was. "I need to speak to you a moment," he told Neji.

Sasuke watched Neji walk off a few paces with Naruto. He heard the attack at the port in Panama mentioned, details on the man requested and given. It still made his scalp prickle to think he'd been within hailing distance of his father. Neji was lucky to have gotten away. When Naruto stalked off down the deck, Neji came back to Sasuke and resumed his instructions. Sasuke was attentive.

"What exactly does a Boatswain do?" he asked when Neji was finished explaining point regarding the artillery.

Neji was watching carefully the way Sasuke demonstrated his knew knowledge of one of the guns. "Boatswain is generally in charge of the other members of the crew. I help out where needed, assign jobs, and like that. I have to know how to do each man's job, so that I can train a replacement or new recruit if need be."

"Sounds like a lot of responsibility."

"It is." Neji corrected Sasuke from adding the gun powder too soon.

"You don't seem like the responsible sort," Sasuke said as he noted his error with the powder. "But you have my thanks for not divulging my whereabouts to my father."

Neji shrugged off the back-handed gratitude. "Didn't do it for you. My loyalties are with Naruto. We've all known him awhile. We're sort of a tight-knit little family. We all have ties to each other, either directly, or through our history with Japan, but the point is we'd die looking out for him and his interests. Just like he'd do for us."

Sasuke digested this. Was he one of Naruto's interests, then? And what ties did the man have to Japan? "What do the other crew men do? What is the difference, for instance, between First and Second Mate?"

Neji leaned his forearms on the railing and looked out over the cloudy horizon. They were making good time, under full sail. "First Mate knows everything there is to know about the ship. Her stability, stress, trim…he's responsible for keeping the ship seaworthy. He's also in charge of rescue attempts, and keeping the crew safe at all times. Second Mate is typically also the medical officer and Navigator. They plot the route, engineer entry and exit from ports, and so on. You know my job already," Neji concluded. "And Sailmaker, Gunner and Watchmen are pretty self-explanatory. I got work to do." Neji strode away.

Sasuke stood at the railing, his clothing doing a poor job of keeping him warm, and absently studied Temari washing vegetables for that night's stew in a metal pail on the deck. She glanced up at him from beneath her wild hair. She was wearing clothes Kakashi had supplied her with, saving the blouse and skirt Sasuke had given her for a 'special occasion'.

-oOo-

The afternoon was spent in Naruto's cabin, with him instructing Gaara on how to maintain a lord's clothing. Gaara was silently watchful as he watched Sasuke demonstrate how to brush his clothing daily, and how to polish his shoes. As there was no actual brush handy for the task, Sasuke told the youth that he would need to use a rough piece of cloth to get the job done.

"Have you been noting your wages?" Sasuke asked when Gaara stood to leave. Evening was approaching. He would be fetching Sasuke's dinner and then leaving him for the night, as per Naruto's rule.

"Yes, sir," Gaara nodded. "And I searched the hold. I found wine hidden, just like you thought. Do you want some with your dinner?"

Sasuke smiled in pleasure. He hadn't had wine since leaving New York. "By all means. I knew there had to be some on this vessel."

Gaara, untroubled with what would happen should the captain find out, nodded and left quietly. He returned shortly with Sasuke's food balanced in one hand on a tin plate and Sasuke's sleepwear, consisting of altered long johns of Naruto's, folded over his other arm. He held the wine by a fist around the neck of the bottle.

Sasuke sat patiently at the desk, his hands folded in his lap, as Gaara struggled to serve him correctly. The plate clattered a bit against the wooden surface as Gaara set it down. The boy frowned in fear of disapproval, but Sasuke only nodded encouragingly. A linen napkin Temari had made for Sasuke's use was whisked from Gaara's back pocket and tucked under Sasuke's chin. Utensils were retrieved from an adjacent pocket and laid beside the plate of stew and hard bread. There was a goblet in Naruto's trunk, a thing of ages past and made of pewter (Gaara had long since searched Naruto's cabin for items he felt should rightfully go to his lord), that Gaara fetched and set beside Sasuke's food. He took up the bottle of wine, nearly dropped it from his sweating, nervous hands, and managed to catch it on his knees. He stopped, trembling in the aftermath of that near disaster.

Sasuke only waited, looking at Gaara as the boy recovered his composure. Gaara tried so hard to please and was doing an admiral job of succeeding. He never shouted at the boy, but Gaara seemed to critique himself severely for the slightest mishap in the performance of his new duties.

Gaara tried in vain to release the cork from the mouth of the bottle, with no success. His face reddened in shame. Sasuke took pity on him and reached out a hand. Gaara placed the bottle in his hand, looking at the floor in disgrace. Sasuke pressed his thumb against the cork until it popped free. He set the bottle on the table. After a moment, Gaara poured without spilling a drop, set the bottle back down, and then stood straight-backed at Sasuke's elbow.

Sasuke allowed a small nod of approval to end the dinner scene. "You've done well," he said. Gaara relaxed, and Sasuke took up his spoon and began to eat. Now that Gaara had finished serving him and the 'lesson' was at an end, he was less formal. "Have you eaten yet?" he asked him.

"Not yet, sir."

Gaara was young and still in training. Normally, a manservant would remain present unless otherwise instructed while his master was eating, in case he required something, but Sasuke wouldn't be that strict with the child. "You are released from service early this evening. Go eat. Perhaps find a game of marbles to play with one of the sailors," he added, mindful of the boy's tender years. "How is your cough now?"

"Much better, sir. Thank you," Gaara added. He left then and shut the door softly behind himself.

* * *

Sasuke eyed the floor of the cabin, where he was expected to sleep, and had been sleeping for days on end. His back was no longer sore from the hard surface. Temari had given him her blanket to use, saying she would sleep in the kitchens, near the stove. He'd accepted it gratefully and used it well.

He was sipping the wine from the pewter goblet, his eyes closing at the richness of the bouquet, when Naruto barged into his cabin unexpectedly. He usually came in after Sasuke was already asleep, and left early in the morning, so Sasuke had been able to delude himself into thinking he had the room for his own private use. They'd been avoiding each other. Naruto even went so far as to speak in Sasuke's presence as if the Uchiha wasn't there. Sasuke, for his part, did not even look at him if he could help it. This arrangement suited him perfectly. It did away with his continued insult at being treated as a commoner and hopefully with Naruto's belief that Sasuke was there to take orders. He and Gaara spent many enjoyable mornings and afternoons in the room, sometimes joined by Temari as she sewed. She was currently making a pillow for Sasuke. At any rate, Naruto was never around to bother him.

The way Naruto's eyes latched onto his was shocking after so many days of their mutual and deliberate ignorance of each other. Sasuke paused in the act of sipping from his wine, then continued. Naruto's eyes were drawn to the goblet by this action. They narrowed, darkened.

There was a moment of stillness in Naruto as his anger gathered, then it exploded along his nerve endings, frying them with rage. That goblet was the only thing he had of his mother which, in turn, had been the only thing she had of his dead father. The goblet was a family heirloom, handed down through several generations. It was never touched, ever, for any reason. It had been wrapped in layers of cotton and tucked safely in the bottom of Naruto's trunk. And here Sasuke sat with his prim knees closed, one hand beside his empty plate and a napkin folded neatly on the desk. With the goblet to his lips. Drinking from it. Drinking…_Naruto's wine. _

Two lunging steps brought Naruto within striking distance of Sasuke as he kicked the cabin door shut. He loomed, his fists clenched at his sides, waiting for Sasuke to cower from his wrath. Most people ran, and ran hard, when Naruto displayed this much anger.

Sasuke calmly sipped, watching Naruto over the rim.

Naruto snatched the goblet away, spilling wine all over Sasuke's clothes. Sasuke shot to his feet, already delivering a furious tirade on Naruto's lack of manners. Naruto punched him.

Ringing silence.

Naruto felt a presence at his back and found Gaara standing at the door with a shiv clutched in his small, but steady fist. He turned back to Sasuke, who was straightening himself against the wall where he'd been knocked. "Tell your _manservant _to leave or he gets hurt," Naruto rasped.

Sasuke looked at Gaara and only said, "Don't interfere." He then slammed his palm against Naruto's chin, snapping his head backward. He followed up with a series of swift blows, delivered to the chest, gut and groin in rapid succession. Naruto doubled slightly at this onslaught. Sasuke grabbed the blond head between his hands and brought Naruto's face into violent contact with the knee he'd hiked upward for this purpose. Blood flew from Naruto's nose and torn lip.

Naruto took hold of Sasuke's waist and lifted. Sasuke was slung over Naruto's shoulder, them slammed down on the desk on his back, atop his plate. The cabin shook.

-oOo-

Gaara, proud to the point of bursting at the heroic effort his master was putting forth, ran in search of assistance. He found his brother and Temari, and most of the original crew members, sitting down to their dinner and talking animatedly. Gaara stammered out the goings on in the captain's cabin. Kankurou shot to his feet, already running, but the rest were hot on his heels. Gaara was ahead of them all, throwing the cabin door open to reveal the scene himself.

The desk was broken. Naruto's face was bloody, but so was Sasuke's. The noble, who routinely moved as little as possible, showed himself to be extremely limber, swiping his leg at Naruto's knees to have the larger man falling backward to crash almost through the wooden planks. Sasuke jabbed downward with his fist, delivering a blow to Naruto's solar plexus that had the larger man sputtering. Then Naruto kicked outward, clipping Sasuke's shoulder, spinning him, whereupon he kicked him again and had Sasuke losing his balance briefly. Naruto ripped the chair from its nails and threw it at Sasuke's back. Gaara shrieked a warning. Sasuke ducked, caught the chair up, and went after Naruto with it.

The men at the doorway ceased watching momentarily to place a flurry of furious bets on the outcome of the match. They used their new advance on their salaries, then hushed to take in more of the fight at the sound of breaking glass.

Naruto had the wine bottle by its neck. The scent of wine was heavy in the room. He held the jagged edges toward Sasuke, who was standing straight and tall, winded, but clearly with a lot left in him. Naruto, too, looked ready to go another ten rounds. Gaara tossed his shiv to Sasuke. "Here, sir!"

Sasuke caught and handled the thin blade dexterously. The last rays of the setting sun glinted off its serrated edge. Naruto closed in.

The spectators watched with bated breath. Naruto was like a bull. Sasuke sidestepped as gracefully as a dancer, evading the more powerful blows, to leave small nicks on Naruto's skin. Naruto finally got close enough to land a kick that sent Sasuke across the room. Gaara screamed, his hands over his mouth. Naruto whirled toward the door and slammed it in the audience's face. He locked it.

It was contested heatedly whether or not this could be considered Naruto's win. Ears were pressed to the door, Gaara was hushed violently.

No sounds. Nothing. It was assumed that Naruto had won. The losers handed over their money, only to refresh the bet about Naruto breaching Sasuke's defenses sexually. The fight was called into play as a powerful stimulant to base desires. Money exchanged hands again, as business was briskly done outside the cabin door.

Kankurou slung an arm around Gaara's shoulders, trying to offer comfort. The Uchiha heir had put up a good fight, he told his weeping brother, but Naruto always got his way.

* * *

Except this time. Naruto turned from the door to find the shiv pressed point first to the main artery in his throat. A pair of ruthless black eyes regarded him behind the raw-knuckled fist holding the shiv. The slightest movement on Naruto's part would have had the tip puncturing his skin. He breathed shallowly, his face clenched around a grimace of grudging respect.

Sasuke pressed a little harder, making his point. Time spun out. Then he backed away.

Naruto only waited until Sasuke was turning away before he rushed him and knocked the blade out of his hand. He pinned Sasuke to the wall face first.

Sasuke waited for a blow, but received none. Naruto seemed to be catching his breath. Sasuke could have had him on the floor in a dozen ways, but waited to see if the fight was at an end. He'd only been defending himself. He would not stoop to actually brawl with this animal for any purpose other than that.

He could feel Naruto's heart beating heavily against his back. The man's breath gusted on his cheek, smelling of apples. Sasuke had had enough. "Get off of me."

Naruto had also had enough. They were far enough at sea. Besides, Sasuke's command called up erotic images. He did move off Sasuke's back, which was surprisingly solid (or not, considering the man had just done what no one else had ever done in Naruto's memory by beating him), but only so that he could turn the man roughly around. He braced his palms to either side of Sasuke's head, looking down into the angular face.

They remained that way, taking in the bruises they'd given each other, as the ship rose upward through a swell of waves, then dipped sharply. It brought Naruto's body flush against Sasuke's for a moment, until Naruto pushed off of him. That did away with any lingering hesitance on his part. He moistened his lips, still bracketing Sasuke with his arms. "Payment is due in full."

Sasuke had been on the verge of removing himself from the heated proximity of Naruto's body. He'd figured they'd talk at last, having done away with their tension of the past couple of weeks by way of their fight, but those were the last words he expected to hear. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm keeping you safe. You agreed to provide a service as payment," Naruto explained, watching Sasuke's brows draw together. "Payment is due. Now."

Sasuke looked around the room that was in shambles. It was hardly the time or place to negotiate such a transaction. There wasn't even any paper handy. The sight of the room brought to mind how the fight had started. He opened his mouth to ask what had caused Naruto to fly into such a rage, but Naruto stopped him, laying a finger to Sasuke's parted lips. The taller man leaned closer, ignoring Sasuke's outrage at being touched thusly.

"You might want to back out of our arrangement," Naruto was saying. "But you did give me your word, didn't you?" Sasuke's frown deepened, as his mouth closed. This slight movement of Sasuke's lips against his finger had his cock stretching down one thigh. Heat and blood pooled below his waist, swelling his flesh until it felt heavy and hot. He kept his eyes on Sasuke's.

Sasuke moved the finger from his mouth, straightened from the wall, and was slowly, yet firmly pushed back by Naruto's hand on his chest. Naruto left his hand there, his eyes searching Sasuke's for a sign of the latter's understanding. Sasuke didn't understand what was going on, but he did not like all this touching. "Of course I gave my word. I may detest you and your ways, but you are doing as promised and getting me to safety."

"Tell me now," Naruto said. "Do you think you will find the money we agreed on with your relatives in Japan?"

Sasuke had been dismayed to learn they were traveling to his ancestral home, but only because his father ruled what remained of the family completely. He sent home money enough to ensure their undying loyalty. "I don't know," he said now. "I didn't really plan on staying long enough to find out. I believe there is land set aside for me and my brother, but I'm not sure how much its worth. And it would only come to me upon my father's death."

Naruto had taken a chance with his question, but he'd needed to be sure there was no way Sasuke would be able to refuse. He nodded now, his hand still on Sasuke's chest. He could feel the heart beating steadily and unhurriedly. "So then you must perform the service in order to pay me off. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Sasuke said. He was alert.

"The service is to be performed for as long as you are on this ship. Agreed?"

Sasuke was beginning to get suspicious. If the service was linked to his presence on this ship, it was something likely done while on the ship. That did not sound like Naruto wanted use of the Uchiha name. He hesitated, going over duties required on this ship and things he'd seen done. After a moment he nodded, more cautiously this time. "Agreed."

"The payment for taking Gaara is to be performed while doing the first service. For as long as Gaara is in your employ or as long as you and he are on this ship under the arrangement of master and manservant. Agreed?"

Sasuke analyzed this as best he could, with no information as yet on these mysterious services. He would not show cowardice by asking if these services entailed pain or torture. He lifted his chin. "Agreed," he said firmly.

Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek, thinking. Savoring the last few moments of Sasuke's ignorance. "You won't back out of the deal? I have your word as a gentleman?"

"As long as you are keeping me and feeding me on this ship, I will perform the services to the best of my capabilities," Sasuke said staunchly. "You have my word as a gentleman." Let the brute see how real men behaved, with honor and integrity no matter how distasteful a task was. No doubt Naruto would have him cleaning filth or some other such thing. Petty, lowlife wretch.

"The service is this," Naruto said while watching Sasuke's face. "You will be my lover."

The words were so understated, yet so monstrous, that Sasuke was struck dumb. He blinked, taking in the serious blue eyes, the full pink mouth, the purpling bruise cresting one cheek. Understanding came first of the word lover, then of the fact that he was expected to lay with Naruto, then of how neatly and purposefully he'd been trapped by his own honor. He had been trapped with calculation and cunning. With cold premeditation.

Naruto felt the heart lurch beneath his palm as Sasuke's brow cleared and his nostrils flared, but Sasuke's voice was almost casually controlled. "No."

"You gave your word."

"No."

"Your word as a gentleman." The heart was hammering now, and Naruto could see it in the frantic pulse at Sasuke's throat. He wondered if it was fear or anger.

Sasuke felt his lungs seizing up at the feeling of being manipulated so easily. A gentleman's word was above reproach. This man knew it, had known it back in his room in New York, had exacted the promise from him then. The sun was almost completely down, but Sasuke could see in the gray light of dusk coming from the window that Naruto had known he would balk. He'd bided his time.

"I would rather see myself dead," Sasuke hissed. "Sodomite!"

Naruto released him and located the shiv. He plucked it from the floor and handed it hilt first to Sasuke. When Sasuke reached for it, Naruto tilted the handle away from his outstretched fingers. "A warning: If you fail to kill yourself now, you will comply with the terms of our agreement. Suicide does not come up again." He handed Sasuke the knife.

Sasuke took it. "You'd stand there and watch me kill myself, wouldn't you."

Naruto said nothing, watching the blade.

Sasuke only held it. "I won't comply. You tricked me. The deal is invalid."

Naruto turned for his cabin door. "I'll tell Chouji to turn the ship toward the nearest port. We'll send a telegram to your father and let him know where to fetch you." He was halfway out the door.

The knife sailed and struck the jamb, inches from Naruto's head. He looked from the quivering hilt to where Sasuke stood pale with fury. He went back into the cabin, shut the door. Tugged the knife free and locked his door once more.

The room was dark now. The moonlight outside didn't reach into the cabin, but made of the window a pale square against the black walls. It looked like a picture of the ocean with white moonlight reflected on the waves, the other ships sailing with them visible in the distance.

Sasuke's silence was taken for tacit concession.

Naruto let the dip of the ship as it came down from another small wave rock him away from the door. He reached Sasuke in time, moving slowly. His body was alive with anticipation; he very rarely indulged his abnormal needs. People talked. Even the most discreet whorehouse madams talked. People like Naruto were not tolerated in society.

And now he had a beautiful man at his mercy for weeks and months. It was more than anticipation. It was unbearable. He didn't know if he'd be able to control himself.

Ah, but he wanted to. He'd never had the luxury of spending time on pleasure. His encounters with other men had been quick and furtive of necessity. He wanted to play with Sasuke, to explore, and to have the man be responsive.

That gave Naruto pause. Sasuke was a proper man, with proper appetites for the fairer sex. How could Naruto possibly expect the man to respond favorably to his advances?

-oOo-

Sasuke stood trembling against the wall, screaming denials in his mind. Naruto neared him at a snail's pace, taunting Sasuke with the power he had over him. He'd thrown the knife to get the bastard's attention, then had been unable to voice all his reasons for refusing Naruto's outrageous demands.

_The sound of his father's cane snapping on his back years ago. He could almost hear the whistle of its passage in the wind as his father brought it down with brutal force, yelling at Sasuke._

He wouldn't go back to his father. There was nothing waiting for him at home besides a grave next to his brother. Had his brother been alive, he would have gladly shoved Naruto's demands down his gullet, but Sasuke was alone.

_That cane…_

Naruto stood close to him. Watching him. Swaying easily with the motion of the ship. Sasuke refused to give in. He would not be coerced into such an abominable relationship.

_Thwak…thwack…thwack…_

It was wrong. Against God. Against nature. Sasuke stood mutely as these thoughts, and memories of that hateful cane, swirled in his mind.

-oOo-

Naruto saw that Sasuke would fight him. He saw it in the way the dark eyes glittered in the faint light, in the stiff stance, and the way the body shivered slightly in preparation of defending itself. He didn't want to take Sasuke by force. He wanted Sasuke to submit to him. He could live without Sasuke's enjoyment of the act, but he needed his submission. He tried anyway. "You gave your word," he whispered.

Sasuke had been staring at Naruto's shoulder, where a small cut from the shiv had left a bloody scratch through the shirt. He turned his head fractionally to pin the questioning blue eyes with his own. "And I am breaking it. Stay away from me." Sasuke held the shiv up to Naruto's mouth. "Or I will cut your heart out."

Naruto hadn't even been aware of when Sasuke had relieved him of the blade. He let Sasuke shove him aside as the shorter man yanked open the cabin door and slammed it behind him.

He stared at the closed door for a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Seems the only one not liking this is the one its dedicated to. How discouraging. :( Oh, well...I did try. I'm glad the rest of you seem to enjoy it. ^^

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 6

Sasuke spent the night brooding. He found the corner of the ship farthest from Naruto's cabin, wedged himself into it, and let loose a muttered stream of vile language his father would have boxed his ears soundly for. His lips tightened further in rage as he realized thoughts of his father still plagued him.

He wished his brother was there. Itachi had always been able to soothe his more violent behavior. He would calm Sasuke by listening to him rant, or by explaining the situation in such a light as to make it funny or reasonable. That was if he curbed Sasuke at all. Sometimes he would just let Sasuke vent, sometimes sparring with him to accomplish this, until Sasuke collapsed. Then he would look at Sasuke and laugh his seldom heard laugh. This never failed to bring Sasuke to tears of his own mirth, all his anger forgotten.

Sasuke slid down his corner and rested his pounding head on his knees. _Itachi. I need you, brother. I'm so sorry. The moment I was out of your watchful protection, I made a mess of things. _It comforted him to think maybe his brother was watching over him from on high. He hoped Itachi forgave him for getting him and his wife killed. He wished someone would come and rescue him from his untenable situation. Maybe if he went back to his father, he could persuade the man to be merciful?

No. There would be no mercy from that quarter. Sasuke had long suspected that his father only tolerated him because Itachi had been such an exemplary son. Itachi had interceded on Sasuke's behalf times without number, before that final caning.

_The cane._

Sasuke lifted his head at hearing footsteps approach. It was Gaara. The boy looked frightened and angry at the same time. Sasuke quickly stood.

"Sir, are you-"

"I'm fine, Gaara." Sasuke took the cloth that was wet with cold sea water which Gaara handed him, and placed it against his cut chin. It stung. "Gaara, I must ask you to fix my place to sleep down in the hold with the others."

Gaara nodded sadly. He left.

* * *

During the days that followed it became painfully obvious that something besides the fight the crew had witnessed had come between Sasuke and Naruto. They were both behaving oddly. Naruto stalked around his ship looking for blood, where before he'd been in high spirits around his friends. Sasuke kept as far away from Naruto and anything belonging to him as was physically possible. That was nothing new.

The way his eyes followed Naruto around was, though. It was anyone's guess what the silent man was thinking. He looked angry, curious, frustrated, and ashamed all at the same time. Whenever necessity brought Naruto within hailing distance of Sasuke, the noble would fold his arms tightly over his chest, as if afraid Naruto would touch him. With much difficulty, it was concluded that Naruto had not yet managed to plunder Sasuke's riches. It was speculated on whether the offer had been extended to the stiff Uchiha. Neji whispered during a free moment to his listening audience that he thought it had. Naruto had been refused, hence his murderous attitude. It would also explain Sasuke's vigilance of the now-tyrannical captain. This news elicited a collective shiver at such juicy happenings going on in their midst. "We should definitely keep out of his way," Shikamaru whispered then. "Remember what happened the other day?"

They did. Naruto had been looking at his journal, going over an entry he'd made the previous day as he stalked toward his cabin. He'd tripped over someone, the journal had gone flying, and he'd barely caught himself. When he'd looked down, he'd found Gaara sitting on the deck, doing something to Sasuke's clothes.

The backhanded slap had been delivered before Naruto stopped to think on what he was doing, his crew was sure. Gaara had taken it, his face averted from the force. He'd slowly turned back to the coat he was brushing, his eyes down. Naruto had blinked, contrite. He'd opened his mouth to perhaps apologize.

A tap on his shoulder. He'd turned and Sasuke's fist had rammed between his eyes. Naruto had gone down like a tree. When he'd woken up, he'd sworn on his mother's grave to drown anyone who so much as mentioned it.

-oOo-

There were times they stopped at ports along South America to take on fresh water and food. Sasuke left the ship in the company of Gaara. Naruto would be nigh on impossible to be around until the man came back. Eventually, his crew caught on that their captain was afraid Sasuke would disappear completely, never to return. Neji came up with the insightful conclusion that Sasuke was probably visiting the whores, just like everyone else was at these stops. The others nodded appreciatively at Neji's deductive skills. Likely this fact was what added to Naruto's towering temper during these trips ashore.

In fact, Sasuke was taking a page from Gaara's book. He was hiring himself out. There wasn't much he could do in the day or two he was ashore, but he managed to find employment most often as someone who read documents for illiterate farmers. He was paid in produce or cloth, as per his request. He would then take these back to the _Whirlwind_ and instruct Temari to feed him from these stores, not Naruto's. She also made clothing for him and Gaara that was very comfortable and warm. Once, Sasuke had earned several sheep hides. Temari stitched these into a warm blanket for Sasuke and a cap for Gaara. The further south they traveled the more the climate cooled.

When Naruto learned that Sasuke was spurning his food in favor of provisions he earned elsewhere, the blond had stormed up to Sasuke and forced a confrontation.

Naruto's friends materialized from nowhere, standing around the two casually, as if they weren't listening with all their might.

There was nothing to listen to. Naruto glared down at Sasuke. Sasuke glared defiantly back. Naruto breathed heavily, his fist balled to punch. Sasuke stood tensely, ready to duck. Gaara stood bravely at Sasuke's back. Naruto finally sniffed, shook his head in disgust, and left. Sasuke released his pent up breath. The spectators curbed their disappointment.

* * *

They were nearing the cape. Tension mounted in the crew and sailors as this dangerous hurdle loomed in their path. The cape boasted such ferocious winds, such devastating waves and icebergs, that it was considered an act of supreme skill and luck to make it round with ship and crew intact. Few did. Many were wrecked in the waters around the cape, lost forever to the watery grave all seamen either craved or feared.

Sasuke knew none of this. He only saw that the crew became increasingly silent and edgy with each passing day. It was something he noticed absently. His thoughts centered around himself, mostly, as he tried to keep out of anyone's way.

_Naruto. The cane. The deal. The cane. His word. The cane. Naruto-_

_Stop it!_ Sasuke screamed at himself.

Besides all this, Sasuke wondered ceaselessly if Naruto had settled on this particular means of payment because such services were hard to come by or because he saw him as desirable.

_The cane._

Sasuke vowed to open his veins if he thought of that blasted cane once more. In control of himself again, he sat eating the morning meal Temari had prepared for him.

Did Naruto desire him? Well yes, he did, but why? Sasuke found himself staring at Naruto, trying to understand what drove the man. There were too many conflicting behaviors for Sasuke to get a clear picture of Naruto's personality.

He had maneuvered Sasuke into promising base services, yet did not force himself on Sasuke. He grew angry whenever he saw Sasuke eating food he'd earned ashore, yet had delayed leaving port on several occasions when Sasuke had been late to return to the ship. There were many other occurrences of odd behavior from the infuriating man.

Sasuke himself was guilty of conflicting emotions. Why didn't he stay ashore and have done with it if Naruto's ultimatum was so intolerable? By remaining on his ship, he only saw to it that he continued to owe Naruto a debt that he would not pay. He could eat all of 'his own' food he wished, it did not lessen the fact that he had broken his word or that Naruto expected payment at some point eventually. He actually expected Naruto to leave him at one of the ports. Each time he'd been late, he'd been nearby, waiting to see if the _Whirlwind _pulled up anchor_. _Once, Sasuke had gotten held up by street toughs who'd seen him paid with a rare bit of coin. He'd fought them off, handling them easily, but when he'd turned to make for the docks, he'd found Naruto standing there, pipe in hand and ready to use in defense of him. He'd left Sasuke standing there without a word.

Guilt ate at him when he had no reason to feel guilty for refusing Naruto's impossible demands.

-oOo-

The wind freshened suddenly, blowing Sasuke's food high into the air. His eyes were drawn upward, to where the sails were snapping violently. Naruto's voice could be heard shouting as sailors and the crew ran hither and yon, doing things Sasuke couldn't explain. One sailor pointed behind Sasuke. Sasuke turned and felt his stomach freeze into a ball of fear.

Heavy, dark, roiling clouds were tumbling briskly toward them, obscuring the horizon. Lightning snagged through the clouds, and distant thunder could be heard. A faint shout had Sasuke looking aft at where the captains of the other ships were apparently giving orders as well. Shino called down something from the crow's nest just before a wave lifted them high into the air. Sasuke fell to the deck as icy water washed overboard and drenched him. He felt himself slipping, the deck tilting, and suddenly the clouds were right on top of them, sending down torrents of needle sharp rain.

Sasuke grabbed hold of a sailor as he was sluiced past with the receding wave and missed. The man disappeared overboard, and it was then Sasuke saw that the ocean had become alive.

Waves rose eerily, slowly, yet with unstoppable power. They seemed to kiss the clouds before undulating onward. The other ships in their group could be seen rising and falling too, sometimes drenched in the waves. One ship, the one captained by Raidou if Sasuke remembered correctly, was overturned and submerged completely.

"Sir!" It was a shriek Sasuke barely heard. He was down on his face, holding fast to a large iron circle bolted to the deck. Sasuke thought it was something used to help tie down sails, but couldn't remember. He lifted his head and was in time to see Gaara holding to the edge of the railing on the far side of the deck. Then he was gone, swallowed by a wave.

Sasuke felt strength course through him. "Gaara!" He was running against the wind, stripping off his coat and diving cleanly overboard before anyone could stop him.

The shock of the water stole his breath, but Sasuke braced against the pain of such frigid temperatures, willing his body to move. He was lifted on a wave, lifted so high he thought the lightening would fry him. He saw Gaara on another wave, screaming, trying to swim, being carried farther away from Sasuke and the ships with each swell of the ocean.

Sasuke was galvanized into action, pointing himself toward Gaara and swimming with powerful strokes.

He pushed himself, kicking his legs and pulling with his arms, even when waves crashed over him and sent him tumbling ceaselessly beneath the surface of the water. Each time it happened he thought he would surely drown. It was sometimes many seconds before he could gain the surface, gasping for air. And each time, Gaara was farther away than before.

Sasuke shut down his mind. He shut down his fear, his shivers of impending frostbite and focused his mind as he'd learned from his father's stern teachings. He emptied his mind of all thoughts save rescuing his loyal manservant, the boy he'd come to love.

He swam furiously, frequently against the swells. Gaara at one point was pushed closer to him by a wave and Sasuke took heart, swimming with the determination and single-mindedness his family was known for.

His body was numb. Thunder crashed around him, lightning crackled and the rain sheeted down. He swallowed water, but kept swimming despite this. Gaara's bright hair was his only guide. Gaara saw him and attempted to help, swimming toward Sasuke. He grew tired every few minutes, and was submerged often.

Gaara went under a final time. He didn't come back up and Sasuke new fear again at last. Keeping his eyes on the spot the boy had disappeared, he dove beneath the surface.

Had it been night, Gaara would have been lost. As it was, light was still available even with the heavy black clouds. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Sasuke's keen eyes to catch the merest hint of red before his vision was obscured by the water. He kicked strongly, pointing himself downward. It was easier to direct himself beneath the surface. He had more control over his movements, but he was weakening. Gaara sank, seemingly too spent to continue fighting. Sasuke strained, reached….the dark depths were claiming Gaara. Soon Sasuke wouldn't be able to see him.

His fingers brushed Gaara's.

The fingers twitched, grasped Sasuke's hand. Sasuke pulled Gaara up into his embrace, positioning the thin arms around his neck as he kicked for the surface.

His lungs were burning. The surface was a couple hundred yards above him. He wasn't going to make it. With the last of his energy, he shoved Gaara toward the surface. Gaara was holding his breath, not unconscious, but devoid of energy. He would faint soon, Sasuke saw. Almost immediately Gaara began sinking again. Sasuke caught him. This time they both went down.

A torpedo of churning water and bubbles arrowed toward them, capped by blond hair. A strong hand stretched out to them.

Sasuke reached, feeling the cold of the deep. The churning water resolved itself into Naruto, who put on a burst of speed and snatched Sasuke's forearm.

-oOo-

Naruto labored, dragging Sasuke and Gaara towards where the lightning danced visibly along the underside of the boiling storm. He could feel Sasuke helping, kicking his legs. He had Sasuke under an arm, Gaara supported by them both. The boy was limp, probably loosing consciousness, even as Sasuke was doing the same.

They broke the surface and Naruto drew in a harsh, painful breath. Sasuke coughed and sputtered, threw up water.

"Gaara," Sasuke yelled above the noise of the storm. "Gaara!" He slapped the boy, then turned on his back and began steadily swimming toward where Naruto pointed.

The _Whirlwind _rode the steep waves, sliding down them, only to be tossed upward again. Naruto swam after Sasuke, dragging him whenever the man lost strength. When they neared the ship, Chouji and Shino threw them lifelines and reeled them in. This took some time as the waves threatened to pull the line from Naruto's frozen fingers several times.

Ironically it was a wave that washed them aboard. Gaara was swiftly carried below decks by his distraught brother. Sasuke lay where he'd fallen, watching Naruto drop to his hands and knees, hacking up sea water.

One would think there would be time to recover, but Naruto lurched to his feet and stumbled toward the helm. He paused before disappearing from sight. "Wait for me in my cabin," he rasped at Sasuke. He could barely be heard over the fury of the howling wind and crashing waves. "Don't come out until I tell you it's safe."

Sasuke nodded weakly.

* * *

He did go down, but not to Naruto's cabin. He went to the hold, where Temari was busy crying over Gaara's body. The boy's lips were blue, his face deadly white.

"Step aside," Sasuke said roughly. He shoved Temari out of the way and dropped beside the boy. He felt no pulse.

Once, he'd been caught in an undertow while playing at the beach with his brother. He'd screamed and swam to no avail. His last sight had been of the sun, shimmered by the waves he was dying in.

He'd woken up to find himself back on the beach. Itachi had been leaning over him, pumping his chest repeatedly. He'd told Sasuke that it was this that had saved him, after he'd retrieved him from the water.

Sasuke applied this knowledge to Gaara now, pressing rhythmically on the boy's chest and breathing air into his lungs. Kankurou held Temari off to one side, where she sobbed raggedly. No one else was present. Everyone who was able was off trying to save the ship from sinking.

Press, press, press. Breathe. Press, press, press. Breathe.

Sasuke was beginning to wonder if he was doing it wrong. Perhaps he was supposed to press for a greater number of times? Gaara remained still.

Temari screamed. Sasuke looked and found Gaara's eyelids twitching. A moment later the boy vomited up a small fountain of water. Sasuke hastily turned him on his side. Gaara drew in a convulsive breath and immediately began wailing. He clutched Sasuke tightly, shivering uncontrollably. Sasuke closed his eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks, holding Gaara securely.

-oOo-

The crying didn't last long, Sasuke was relieved to see. Gaara mastered himself in record time, settling down to let himself be mothered by Temari. Sasuke was nearly knocked senseless as Kankurou slammed into him. He realized he was being hugged by the larger man and tolerated it for a few seconds. Truth be told, he had not the energy to resist. His muscles quivered like jelly, taxed by his lengthy swim to Gaara.

Kankurou pulled back and held Sasuke's head, speaking close to his face to be heard. "I saw him go over. I saw, but I was too far away to do anything. The water carried him so far so fast…I knew he was lost. Then I saw you go after him." Kankurou stared at Sasuke in awe, in worship, for having saved his brother's life. "I've never seen anyone swim like that in my life. Never. The waves didn't even stop you."

_Well, I'm paying for it now_, Sasuke thought. "Who sent Naruto after me?" he asked as his tremors set in.

"No one," Kankurou answered. "Naruto saw you jump after Gaara and swung the ship around. Took three of us on that wheel. Waves fought us, but Naruto…he didn't let up. How he steered us in this storm I'll never know, but he did. When he saw you both go under, he went after you. Once he was off the wheel, the ship started drifting away. We kept her as close as we could, hoping he would bring you back…he did. My brother is safe. I'll owe you until I die," Kankurou said simply. "Till I die, as God is my witness." He turned away, not bothering to hide his tears as he went and sat with Gaara. The boy was cradled in his sister's arms, asleep.

* * *

Sasuke made his way to Naruto's cabin when he was able, and was glad he did. The storm seemed to worsen, if that was possible. He was thrown about the cabin until he finally wedged himself under the bed.

It seemed like hours passed. Sometimes he heard shouting, sometimes only the wind and rain. The glass in the window had shattered a long time ago. Water poured in regularly, washing across the planks to douse Sasuke and keep him frozen and miserable.

The worst of it was not knowing what was happening. How soon would they be out of this hell? The ship pitched and pitched, heaved and dipped, until Sasuke felt sick. Night fell, with them still in the grip of the storm, and still no one came to tell him anything. Sasuke ventured up to the main deck.

-oOo-

In the hours he'd been in the cabin, all light had left the sky. Only the lightning provided illumination. Each time it flashed, it showed a scene from nightmares: The waves were bigger, humped as high as mountains. Sky and sea seemed to be in personal contact with each other, each black and forbidding and intent on destroying them. The rain was as an afterthought.

_No one can survive this, _Sasuke thought in wonder. _I'll die out here. Itachi, I'm coming._

He could see members of the crew fighting at various tasks. He made his slow way toward the helm.

Naruto was alone at the wheel, all his weight thrown against it. Even so, the thing spun from his grip, ripping his hands bloody. Sasuke half fell, half threw himself toward it and added his strength to Naruto's.

Sasuke looked where Naruto pointed. A vague shape of land, where he assumed there was some sort of shelter to be had. Naruto pulled hard on the wheel to the right and Sasuke pulled with him. The wheel, previously locked in the opposite direction, slowly turned. The ship turned with it.

It was savagely hard work, desperate work that required every spent muscle in their bodies be strained until these muscles shuddered in agony. They pulled and pushed. Grunted and bled.

Close to, Naruto finessed, with great difficulty, his ship through a narrow gulf. The land rose from beach sand, to small hills, to moderate cliffs along sides of the gulf. Once surrounded by these cliffs, Naruto guided the _Whirlwind _into a small cave carved from one cliff naturally by the water. It was barely big enough to house the ship. It was dark inside. The wind was gone, and the sea relatively calm. They'd reached a small pocket of safety, a haven. Naruto collapsed on his wheel, hearing his crew whoop in victory, though the storm continued to rage out to sea.

Sasuke leaned against the wall, all strength gone. He lifted a shaking hand to his face, though he could barely see in the dark. He flexed his hand, feeling the skin that had been scraped raw. He straightened and turned to leave.

Naruto reached him, spun him around, and pressed him against the wheel. He took hot possession of Sasuke's mouth, his tongue delving deeply. Sasuke could only marvel at how Naruto's mouth was the first warmth he'd felt in weeks. He succumbed to it gratefully.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I simply must give a shout out to **Alleycat87**. She has said some truly remarkable things about my work, lifting me to heights of gratitude while sending me plummeting with with embarrassment. All good feelings, very good feelings. I can't thank her enough, truly.

Next, I've created a Facebook page for this pen name. It's separate from my personal account so readers can join it anonymously. I created it to keep you all informed of updates and upcoming works, hold discussions, etc...in short, to keep in contact with you all. I hope you visit^^ It's accessible from my profile page.

Things are progressing for this fic. I guess starting next chap the focus will change to just Sasuke and Naruto for several chaps. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews!

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 7

For the few seconds that he gave in to the kiss, Sasuke reasoned that he was mad. The sound of his father's cane resounded in his head but even this was swept away with the touch of Naruto's lips to his mouth. It was hot, frenzied, mad…

Sasuke recoiled in shock at the realization that it really was Naruto's tongue in his mouth, that the man was kissing him most ardently. He turned his head away and was alarmed to hear Naruto mutter with fevered urgency, "No, don't, don't turn from me Sasuke." He sought Sasuke's mouth again, his hard hands starting to bruise Sasuke's arms. Sasuke struggled to speak past his shock, to form words.

Footsteps clamored toward them and quick as that, Naruto was on the other side of the wheel, smoothing a hand over his wet hair. He had his back to Sasuke by the time Shikamaru and Chouji reached them, holding a lantern aloft to dispel the darkness. "Captain," Shikamaru said breathlessly. He stopped, sensing the atmosphere. He looked back and forth between Sasuke's white face and Naruto's tense shoulders. "I… came to report the missing and damages."

Sasuke made his escape, slipping and sliding in the water on deck as he ran for the bunks below.

* * *

It turned out several sailors had been lost. The _Whirlwind's _crew was down by five. Thankfully, none of Naruto's friends were among the missing. Kankurou was telling Gaara, who lay in the hammock next to Sasuke's, that they'd all had the sense to tie themselves to the ship, as any seaman worth the title knew to do. Sasuke listened to the report on the damages done to the sails and masts with his back to them both. The storm continued to howl through the night. Sasuke lay huddled in his hammock, beneath his blanket, refusing to think about what had happened after they'd reached safe harbor. After a time, he slept deeply and dreamlessly.

Around mid-afternoon the next day, the clouds broke apart to reveal a golden sun shining warmly on their gulf. Hammering could be heard above decks, Neji bellowing directions, as repairs got under way. It seemed the ship had been steered out of the cave while he'd slept. Temari brought him food on trembling hands, her infatuation with Sasuke multiplied tenfold by his rescue of Gaara. Gaara was still recovering from his near drowning, asleep again. Temari left the plate of food for him on the floor.

Alone finally and wide awake, Sasuke admitted that he could avoid what had happened no longer. One could only listen to seamen swear and work for so long before the mind turned to more stimulating thoughts.

He called up the image of his portrait that hung in his room back at Uchiha Manor. In it, he'd been wearing a small smile. This was because Juugo, his friend since infancy, had been sitting in the room behind the artist, making faces at the man's back.

-oOo-

_His father had been angry at seeing the finished product. "You look like some common lout," he'd seethed to Sasuke. "This portrait will be hung alongside your ancestors', would it have taxed you to show the proper respect?" Sasuke had smirked even then, thinking of a bunch of moldy pictures being outraged. His father had cuffed him soundly for that insolence. And when his father had questioned the artist and learned that Juugo had been present during the days it had taken to complete the commission, he'd given an ultimatum. "I tire of that boy's presence. He's beneath your station, Sasuke. An apprentice to an animal doctor has no place rubbing shoulders with those of us who are gentry. You will tell him he is no longer welcome here or you will be punished."_

_Sasuke had indeed conveyed this message to his friend, right before he informed him that he had no intention of giving him up. Juugo was more than just his friend. Itachi had advised his brother on caution, not wanting to see him get hurt, but Sasuke felt he should be allowed this one transgression. "I do everything else he asks of me," he'd groused to Itachi. "This one thing will never be discovered. Can't I have a bit of happiness in my life or must everything be rules, obedience and the pursuit of perfection?" Itachi had smiled sadly but had not been able to give Sasuke a satisfactory answer._

_A few weeks after the completion of the portrait, Uchiha Fugaku caught his younger son kissing his friend in an empty horse stall in the stables. It had taken three groomsmen and Itachi to hold him back. Those men were summarily dismissed from their positions at Uchiha Manor. Fugaku threatened to disown Itachi if he did not step aside._

_By the time the groomsmen had been seen off the property, Mikoto had come down to the stables to see what all the commotion was about. She held her lacy handkerchief over her stricken face, sobbing softly when she heard the cause for her husband's wrath. Itachi stood by, looking down at where Sasuke had remained after being backhanded by his father. Juugo stood in a corner of the stall, silent and frightened._

_Fugaku looked down at his son's defiant face. "Bear witness," he said to those still in the stable, "to how I deal with such loathsome and intolerable behavior under my roof. Fetch my cane."_

_One of the servants present ran to do this. Itachi stepped to his father, reaching for his arm. "Father please, he won't do it again-"_

_Fugaku fixed his eldest with a glare. "Stand down or share his punishment on top of being disowned." He shook off Itachi's hand and took off his dinner jacket. He handed it to his wife, then began methodically rolling up his sleeves. The cane was brought and placed in his hand. He spoke to Sasuke. "Stand and place your hands against the wall, son."_

_Sasuke spat at his father's feet. "No."_

_"Stand or it will go worse for you."_

_"I hate you."_

_"I said stand!"_

_Sasuke remained on the floor, in the hay, until his father reached down and yanked him up, yelling now as his control broke once more. Sasuke was thrown against the wall. The cane whistled through the air before coming to land with a thwack on Sasuke's back. Such was the blow that Sasuke's clothes did nothing to soften it. The cane was made of mahogany, two inches in circumference at its narrowest point. It was of superior craftsmanship, made to last many, many years._

_To those watching, it seemed the cane would outlast the slim youth on which it was used. Itachi winced with each blow on his brother, as if he felt the cane on his own back. Mikoto was led away by her maid, unable to watch past the first dozen blows. Eventually all the servants left, until only Itachi remained._

_Juugo held Sasuke's gaze as the beating wore on and on. Sasuke clamped his jaws around the screams, letting his hatred of his father solidify with each crushing blow. It gave him strength. He did not cry out or let his knees buckle. When his vision began to dim, he ruthlessly kept himself conscious by biting his lip till it bled._

_Fugaku raged wildly, ignoring the pleas of his eldest son to stop before he killed Sasuke. He didn't stop. And the longer Sasuke remained silent throughout the beating, the more violently that cane descended._

_Thwack… Thwack… Thwack._

_It broke. After Sasuke was on his knees, bleeding and swaying, still refusing to pass out though his legs had long-since failed him, the cane finally broke. Juugo wept noisily, shedding the tears Sasuke refused to. Fugaku turned and left the stable._

_Sasuke did lose his battle to remain conscious then._

_~o~  
_

_He was tended to by Itachi and his mother for the weeks he was bedridden. Their doctor had visited and declared that it would be a miracle if Sasuke grew to adulthood with a straight back and no lasting ailments. He'd been amazed that nothing was broken in Sasuke._

_Juugo had never been seen again. Sasuke had sent Itachi down to his house to enquire after him when Juugo didn't come visit him after a week. The house was empty, all their possessions still present. No one seemed to know where they'd gone. When Itachi came to Sasuke that evening to tell him, Sasuke had looked at his brother with dry eyes. Itachi lowered his head and stared at his hands._

_"They're gone, aren't they," Sasuke had said to the darkened room. "Father had them k-"_

_"Don't say it," Itachi whispered. "Maybe they moved."_

_Sasuke thought this highly unlikely if all their possessions were still in their one-room flat. He'd gotten his friend killed. He faced this fact with a coldness that had descended on him from the first blow of that cane._

_"I told you that you would be caught if you didn't stop meeting Juugo like that," Itachi said. "I tried to cover for you that time, but Father…"_

_Sasuke had given up then. Juugo was dead._

_Fugaku had lost the use of his arm for awhile behind the beating, and had needed to keep it in a sling for over a month. Sasuke had taken longer, nearly nine months, before his back was pain free. Itachi had assisted him whenever he'd needed it, getting him to play sports again in order to regain his strength. He rubbed Sasuke's back nightly with the liniment the doctor left for him. He listened to Sasuke rage about how much he hated their father._

_A few days after the beating, when his father had come in to threaten him with the whip and exile to Japan if he did not heel, Sasuke had seen that he could end up joining Juugo. It came to him then that his father was very possibly insane. He'd promised to obey and be a model son._

_And so he had been. He'd become withdrawn. He studied, obeyed, and conducted himself with the decorum expected of his position in society. He'd shunned the lower classes so thoroughly that Fugaku was made proud. Sasuke had never forgotten his place again._

-oOo-_  
_

Until now. Sasuke listened to footsteps running back and forth overhead, trying to judge if any of them were coming his way. If a certain heavy tread was perhaps descending the ladder into the hold, come to seek him out…

The footsteps moved on. Sasuke was safe still.

He raised his fingertips to his lips, finally letting his mind dwell on the kiss itself. A small sound escaped him as he recalled that Naruto's tongue had been in his mouth. That most definitely was _not _how civilized people kissed. Civilized people kissed with their lips properly closed. What Naruto had done was how French whores kissed. Sasuke had witnessed this when he'd gone abroad with Itachi. He'd never done it. He did not kiss the occasional whore he'd sampled if he could help it. They had filthy mouths full of rotten teeth. If he kissed them, it was on their rouged cheeks or some other part of their face, but he generally did not kiss them. He used them, paid them, and left.

And now, the source of his shame and seclusion: he'd responded to Naruto's inappropriate gesture. It had only been for a few moments, but it had been long enough. More than long enough. An eternity. Sasuke cautiously explored the knowledge that the kiss had been… enjoyable. He covered his face with his hands in horror.

* * *

Most of the repairs were done within the week. Others would require a port and materials they didn't have on board. Shikamaru pronounced the _Whirlwind _fit to sail. Naruto guided her out of the gulf into calm waters. The ocean was placid. Naruto looked at the horizon, and the distance of the sun from it. He was able to ascertain his location, confirmed by Chouji.

"I'll be damned," Naruto breathed. "We rounded the cape during that storm. The worst is behind us!" He turned and clapped his crew heartily on their backs, relief making them loud and boisterous.

Kankurou's smile faded as he looked out over the water. "Nearly lost my brother out there. Did none of the other ships make it?"

That silenced everyone. None had seen so much as a stick of driftwood from the other ships. They looked to where Gaara sat near Sasuke as the man dictated something for him to write down. Gaara did not leave Sasuke's side for any reason these days. The crew all knew that Sasuke had helped Naruto steer them to safety, after his miraculous rescue of Gaara. They had nothing but the utmost respect and awe of the man. They bowed and scraped and fetched and carried for Sasuke as if he'd walked on the water and tamed the storm with a command from his lips.

Naruto was incensed about this development. It was almost mutiny. The sight of his men worshiping the planks Sasuke walked on kept his temper simmering, but god forbid he should admonish them about it. Not when Sasuke had decided to help out now that they were shorthanded. All Naruto had to do was glare at Sasuke for too long and someone had the nerve to speak of it. He'd begun fearing the food Temari sent up to him, certain that it was poisoned.

-oOo-

After the storm had blown over and Naruto had at last stumbled to his cabin, he'd been sure Sasuke would be waiting for him. The thought of him giving in to their arrangement at last, the way he'd given in to the kiss, had given Naruto the energy to make sure his ship and her crew were all right before seeking his bed.

His cabin had been empty. Kankurou informed him that Sasuke was down below, resting. During the days that followed, Sasuke avoided Naruto. Naruto had tried speaking to him only once, to ask if he was recovered from his dip in the ocean. Sasuke had replied stiffly that he was fine. He thanked Naruto for his concern and left him staring after him.

* * *

Sasuke was trying in vain to hold the oddly shaped needle used for constructing and repairing sails, listening to Lee's patient instructions, when Neji found him. "The captain wants to see you," he said formally. Then added, "In his cabin."

A frisson of dread had Sasuke stabbing the pad of his thumb with the sharp needle. He took care not to get blood on the sail cloth. Gaara was there with a handkerchief, holding it solicitously to the wounded digit. "I see. Did he say what this was in regards to?"

"No. Just to send you to his cabin." Neji's eyes held a curious light in their gray depths, as if he knew or suspected something.

Surely Naruto wouldn't make known his taste for men? Sasuke thought as he stood. "I will be there directly."

Gaara tried to come with him. Sasuke told the boy to remain, that he would be down again as quickly as possible. He walked smartly to the captain's quarters, paused to steady himself, then rapped once on the door.

"Come in."

Sasuke entered, and found Naruto sitting at the desk he'd had repaired in one of the ports before the storm. His elbows were on the desk, his hands folded before his mouth. His eyes did not blink as he watched Sasuke close the door and come to stand before the wide desk. He got to the point.

"Our arrangement is at an end," he told Sasuke's carefully bland face. "You won't honor our bargain. You did help me save my ship, so I won't contact your father. However, as we are nearing our first port on the western coast of South America, I'll be leaving you ashore. Gaara stays on board. That is all." Naruto gestured towards his door in dismissal.

Sasuke was speechless. He turned for the door and left, but not before Naruto had seen the confusion in his dark eyes, which confused him in turn. Wasn't this what the blasted man wanted? To be away from him? Well, he certainly wanted Uchiha Sasuke off his ship. He caused entirely too much discomfort with his increasingly friendly attitude towards his crew, and his handsome face. Day by day he could see Sasuke unbending from the stiff prude Naruto had met behind a pile of driftwood. Sasuke laughed with his men, was affectionate to Gaara, polite to Temari… and the moment Naruto was around, he changed back into the insufferable aristocrat again. Naruto had reached the end of his patience. If he wasn't getting anything out of saving the man, then Sasuke could bloody well drop dead. He wasn't worth the trouble.

* * *

"Sir?" Gaara said when Sasuke went back down to the bunks. "Is everything all right?"

Sasuke looked at him. He knew the boy would choose to remain with him, even though he'd likely never see his family again. He would miss the boy terribly, but could not in good conscience keep him when his circumstances were so uncertain. He had no idea where he'd get food or lodging once he was left in port. He could not condemn Gaara to those kinds of conditions as well, not when he had a place to sleep and food to eat right here on the ship.

"Sir?" Gaara said again, his voice laced with concern.

Sasuke brought himself out of his thoughts and studied the boy. He wondered what kind of man he would become. If he would follow his heart in things or let society and its many rules keep him from exploring the exciting things in life. "Are you ever afraid, Gaara?" he asked now. His voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

"Of what, sir?" Gaara knelt in front of him, looking up into his face with bald adoration.

"Of things… things that everyone says are wrong."

Gaara considered the question carefully, aware that his master was giving him the supreme honor of being his confidante. "Well… the things my father used to tell me were wrong, were things that could harm me. Like dangerous things. Playing with fire. Staying out past dark. I was afraid to do those things."

Sasuke went on. "Did you ever do something you were brought up to believe was wrong?"

Gaara shifted nervously. "You mean steal? I had to a few times…"

"No," Sasuke struggled to find the right words, a suitable analogy. "Something that you liked to do but were never allowed to do."

"Oh, you mean like peeking at girls in the bath house," Gaara's face reddened. "Well, yeah… you won't tell my brother and sister, will you?"

Sasuke assured him that he wouldn't.

"Yes, I used to peek all the time. Everyone said it was wrong, that people are supposed to have privacy, but the women were all in there together, no privacy at all. And since it didn't hurt me, and it didn't hurt them, I didn't see the harm in it."

"Did you ever wonder what would happen if you got caught?" Sasuke was enraptured with Gaara's words. Peeking! The very idea!

"I'd have been whipped for sure with Kankurou's belt. He told me if he caught me doing that again he'd tan my hide good and proper."

"But you did it anyway," Sasuke stated. "What made you think it was worth the risk?"

Gaara got a faraway look in his eyes. "My sister told me a story about my mom. My mother was a sickly woman. After she had my brother, the doctors told her she couldn't have anymore children. My dad had to stay away from her so they didn't make any children by accident. But my parents really loved each other, and it was hard for them not to be together all those years. They decided enough time had passed since Kankurou and they made me. It killed her, just like the doctor said, but my sister told me the last thing my mom said, while she was holding me, was that all the best things in life come with a risk. And that life was too short not to go after what you wanted. So I figured getting to see naked girls was worth braving the risk," Gaara finished forthrightly.

Sasuke blinked, then threw his head back and laughed. He laughed long and hard, tears coming to his eyes. He rocked back and forth with it, slapped his thigh. Gaara smiled uncertainly, not sure what he'd said to make his master laugh so uncharacteristically. When Sasuke could speak, he asked, "Gaara do you know how babies are made?"

"Yes, sir. You spit in your wife's wine, then a baby grows in her belly."

Sasuke fairly howled with laughter, dropping a hand on Gaara's slight shoulder to hold himself up. "And what, pray tell, could the doctor have meant when he said your parents couldn't be together?" he stammered through his tears. He was eager to hear what nonsense the boy would say.

Gaara answered this too. "Well, they probably couldn't be in the same room and whatnot, or they might accidentally drink from the same glass and have a baby. Sir, are you all right?" he asked when Sasuke collapsed completely.

* * *

Sasuke found out the following morning that their next port was two days away. They would remain long enough to repair the ship completely and send a telegram to Kakashi telling him about the loss of the other ships and their cargo. Then they'd strike out for Japan. Sasuke did a lot of thinking during those two days.

The people of the city the _Whirlwind _docked at were short, brown, and friendly. Naruto paid for a gang of repairmen to see to his ship under Shikamaru's watchful eye. When he'd negotiated the replenishing of stores and provisions, he went in search of someone who'd pierce his left ear for him.

A celebration was suggested at the end of their brief stay in the port. Kankurou said that since they'd made it through that storm alive, they should indulge themselves in a night of drinking and whoring, simultaneously drinking to the souls of the lost captains. Naruto gave his permission for this. Every hand on the _Whirlwind _spent their last night on land with cheap ale and cheap women. All accept Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara, that is.

-oOo-

Gaara had spent the day playing with native children on the docks at Sasuke's behest. The boy was now sprawled in his hammock, sleeping soundly. Sasuke covered him with a blanket and quietly left to go up on deck. He found Naruto standing at the railing, watching the distant lights in the hills of small dwellings. The wind blew briskly, making the ship rock and sway. He stood behind Naruto and waited.

Naruto felt him standing there and finally turned to look at him. The moon was bright and full, shining down from the star-studded night sky with enough brilliance to show him Sasuke's face clearly. He couldn't read the expression there. "Come to say goodbye?"

Sasuke remained silent.

Naruto frowned, looked around Sasuke and saw no bags with his belongings, the things he'd accumulated since Panama. He waited for Sasuke to say something, to give an indication of why he was standing there with that inscrutable expression, but nothing was said. He only stood there, his hands loosely closed and down at his sides. Well, if he wasn't leaving, then…?

Naruto's body tightened with a suspicion. His breathing stopped and he searched Sasuke's face more closely. He straightened from the railing he'd been leaning back against.

Sasuke saw that Naruto at last understood. He turned and went quietly down to Naruto's cabin. After a moment, Naruto followed him, loins already sizzling and swelling painfully.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So. Things will progress slowly in this fic, as has been demonstrated. However, things will be pretty M-rated from here on out, I guess.

Aslo, as mentioned last week, there's a facebook page available. I now have art up on it that isn't on my DA page, scenes and characters from the Bonded trilogy.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 8

Sasuke was in a turbulent, frightened state of mind. He could not honestly say he'd made his decision out of any desire to touch or be touched by Naruto, yet he would not have decided as he had if the kiss hadn't happened.

He'd spent the days after the incident and their time docked in the port thinking long and hard. It was difficult to recall how ready he'd been to flaunt rules in his youth, easier to remember only that he'd been happier. His father had done a thorough job of impressing upon him the distaste with which Sasuke's proclivities were viewed. Sasuke himself had finished the job of transforming himself into a man with character above reproach. Years of his life had gone into polishing this façade he presented to the world. Somewhere along the line it had become who he was, not a façade at all.

The only excuses he could come up with for allowing Naruto to kiss him, even for a moment, was his exhaustion and the events of the storm. But it had served to remind him that he'd been willing to face his father's cane for the right to do as he pleased at one point in time. And if he could face his father over such a small thing as kissing Juugo, could he not face letting Naruto touch him for saving his life? Had he become a coward over the years, as well as obedient?

It was this that had decided him. He'd been a coward those years ago, letting his father threaten him into submission. He was no coward now.

Once decided, he was free to admit that for the duration of the kiss, it _had _been enjoyable. He'd never kissed Juugo that way, had never done more than engage in a few chaste, exploratory touches with him, as boys were wont to do, but he had begun to have an inkling that he might like to do more. His father had ended that notion once and for all. Sasuke had not had another thought on boys, none at all on men, and firmly believed that what he'd done with Juugo was nothing more than the follies of youth. Having done it, though, it was doubly hypocritical of him not to honor his arrangement with Naruto.

So here he stood, frightened and not showing it, and beginning to sweat by the time Naruto slowly entered his cabin and locked the door.

-oOo-

The silence was torturous.

Naruto stood against his door, painfully aware that now he had what he wanted, he was too eager to have Sasuke to be able to initiate things properly. It had been too long since he'd had a man, well over a year. His own hand had sufficed until Sasuke had come along. Weeks in his presence, craving his body, had shredded his nerves until he'd gone and done the unthinkable by kissing him in a moment of weakness. He had to clench his teeth as his cock jumped suddenly and powerfully in his pants, just from looking at Sasuke standing there. He closed his eyes and forcefully brought himself under control.

But there was no control to be had. Sasuke's alert eyes on Naruto's face seemed to whip his longing to a frenzied state, until he closed the distance between them with a moan and caught Sasuke to him. He held the back of Sasuke's head still and went after his mouth as one starving. As God was his witness, he was _starving _for the man.

Sasuke did not resist, but he was stiff in Naruto's arms, keeping his lips tightly closed against the attack of Naruto's mouth. His arms and hands were pinned between their chests as he was held in hard, hot, trembling arms. Naruto did not at first seem to notice Sasuke's sealed lips, as he inhaled Sasuke's skin at his throat, kissed his neck and cheeks and eyes. He only noticed as he planted moist kisses over and over on Sasuke's mouth with no luck at parting the lips. He leaned back briefly and spoke with difficulty, his voice shaking. "You do agree to the terms I mentioned before, don't you?"

Sasuke was sweating with nerves and embarrassment and the heat of Naruto's breath on his face. Every muscle in his body was clenched in defense; his shoulders were hunched with it, his fists balled beneath his chin where his arms where immobile. His stomach and back were rigid. The feel of Naruto's body against his was such an intrusion on his sense of self… even his teeth were clenched, his jaw tight. Still, at Naruto's question he gave a single, jerky nod. This close, he could not look at Naruto's face though it was an inch from his own. He stared downward, at Naruto's collar. He realized that he was breathing in panicky bursts through his nose.

Naruto could feel the slight tremors coursing through Sasuke's body. The man looked and felt to be scared senseless, but Naruto simply could not resist him long enough to be subtle or coy right now. He lowered his head and licked boldly at the seam of Sasuke's closed lips. Licked and sucked softly, giving the occasional nibble. He kept this up, murmuring periodically, until Sasuke's breathing was too heavy to be sustained through his nose alone. His lips parted at last, and Naruto acted swiftly.

Sasuke regretted opening his mouth, but the man was overwhelming in pressing his suit. He didn't even think Naruto was aware of how tightly he was crushing Sasuke between his arms and chest. He'd had to open his mouth to draw a decent breath, even knowing he was likely to suffer Naruto's tongue again.

The tongue did come and Sasuke grimaced in dislike. It wasn't enjoyable this time, not in the slightest. Now it was just a wet thing filling his mouth with the faintly sweet taste of wine Naruto had drunk at some point.

But Naruto seemed to enjoy the taste of Sasuke's mouth. He rumbled deep in his throat, a response that intrigued Sasuke. How could anyone like this dirty way of using their mouths? He didn't think he'd be able to allow it to go on for much longer.

Naruto was distantly aware of how Sasuke's mouth did nothing but remain open, how his tongue did nothing but try to resist his own. It was a far cry from his capitulation on the night of the storm. He tried to pull back and switch tactics but he couldn't. His cock was throbbing. He forced one thigh between Sasuke's legs, pressing his cock and balls against Sasuke's pelvis. His grinded there, his control slipping as he continued to kiss Sasuke.

The contact of Naruto's manhood sent a ripple of distress through Sasuke. He gasped at the way his legs were parted, at the pressure against his groin, and suddenly Naruto had captured his tongue in the moment he'd been unguarded. It was drawn, despite Sasuke's efforts to retrieve it, into Naruto's mouth.

A feeling bloomed in Sasuke's stomach, in his throat. He felt as if he might regurgitate, yet he didn't feel sick. The feeling could not be labeled as desire either… at least desire had never felt like this for him. It never had him quivering, or his stomach rumbling in nauseous upheaval, or his throat and nose clogging up. Naruto sucked insistently on his tongue and he felt all those things.

Strata within society inevitably led to a certain amount of curiosity about whichever stratum you did not belong to. Sasuke had already confirmed that this was not how people of his class kissed, that it was how whores kissed. He was visited now by a curiosity to know what else people of low birth did; if the simple act of kissing was so different (and hence pleasing… ah, here came the enjoyment he'd had during the first kiss), then other acts must also be quite different. He was reminded of his decision to comply with the agreement. This, and that sick feeling in his throat and belly, had him softening his tongue, relaxing it from his stiff disgust.

It was a pivotal moment, even if it was a small thing.

Sasuke's tongue now pliant, Naruto was able to deepen the kiss measurably, his mouth locked hard to Sasuke's. His insistence forced Sasuke's jaws open wider, until his mouth gaped for him and he had free access to its moist depths. Sasuke let him do as he pleased with his mouth. His stiffly held body began relaxing in small degrees elsewhere and Naruto held him tighter, feeling his crisis approach swiftly. He would be unable to stop it.

Sasuke felt Naruto pump his hips hard against him a few times, the man's body tightening where he stood. He felt his manhood dig painfully into his lower belly, and he was momentarily unable to breathe as Naruto's arms squeezed the wind out of him. Naruto grunted through his kiss as his hips moved faster, then he relaxed completely. Sasuke felt warmth spreading over his pelvis through his clothes and Naruto's. Naruto broke the kiss at last to lean his wet forehead against Sasuke's.

He was relieved. The kiss had been experienced, slightly enjoyed, but now it was done. He knew Naruto had been unmanned, if the warmth seeping into their clothing was what he thought it was. Surely his services were adequately performed for tonight. He wanted to be away, away from the sweaty man and his body that he insisted on keeping in contact with Sasuke's.

Naruto lifted his head and met his eyes. "Again," was all he said.

* * *

It seemed that the night would be given to kissing only. He had not bothered to protest when Naruto dared to lift him against the wall and position his legs around his wide waist. They were still in their coats, still in all their clothing, but Naruto clasped Sasuke's head between his rough palms and kissed him again and again. Or perhaps it was one long kiss. Regardless, it was open-mouthed as before, their tongues in shameless contact with each other. Sasuke allowed it, feeling sick again, feeling unstable and decidedly offended at this position he found himself in. After unknowable minutes, Naruto dropped his hands to Sasuke's hips and ground directly onto his pelvis again, harder this time, and this time, because their positions were different, Sasuke felt an immediate answer in his own loins. "Oh!" he gasped, turning his head from the kiss.

Naruto humped against his stiffening privates briskly, watching Sasuke from beneath frowning brows, until he finished yet again. Now there was a smell drifting up from between their clothes. Sasuke wasn't undone, thankfully, but the way Naruto met his eyes while he'd spilled his seed was most embarrassing. Surely now the man would be satisfied?

No. Naruto shrugged out of his coat, pulled off Sasuke's, all while supporting Sasuke's entire weight on his hips against the wall. Naruto further stripped off his shirt. His chest drew Sasuke's eyes.

"Again," Naruto said. Disbelief must have shown on Sasuke's face, because he added, "And this time I want you to kiss me back, not just allow my tongue in your mouth."

Sasuke stiffened in pride. "I don't know how to kiss as you base-born-"

"You seemed to know during the storm." Naruto's hands settled around Sasuke's waist once more, dragging it against his cock that was growing hard again despite two eruptions. He circled Sasuke's hips on him, basking in the decadent feel of another man, of another cock pressed to his even through layers of clothing.

Sasuke had no answer. His seed pouch was mashed painfully against Naruto's shaft, and the sensation had him arching, trying to escape the pain that was feeding his feeling of impending nausea. No matter how he squirmed, though, Naruto kept him pinned. He even seemed to enjoy Sasuke's movements.

"Again. I want to kiss you for days, Sasuke."

He didn't do it for days, but he did it for the majority of the night. Each time he did, he humped Sasuke's crotch strongly, eventually climaxing. Their pants grew sodden with Naruto's seed, until they had to be removed. Nude, Sasuke had grown scarlet everywhere. The feel of Naruto's skin, his manhood, was like a hot torch set to his skin. They were both wet and slimed with Naruto's ejaculations, their groins and hips positively dripping with the stuff, but Naruto kept kissing him.

Naked and kissing and spurting pungent essence.

-oOo-

They kissed against the wall, with Naruto switching their positions every so often so that sometimes his back was to the surface sometimes. They revolved along one wall, making Sasuke dizzy, yet their mouths never ceased contact.

They kissed with Sasuke seated on the desk. Naruto bent him at a forty-five degree angle so that he had to support his weight on a hand behind him. Naruto was heavy, bearing down against his mouth, suckling his lips painfully, grazing his teeth along Sasuke's jaw. Sasuke gasped at having his groin jerked wetly against Naruto's at the warm flood of the blond's seed over his thighs. A large hand buried itself in his hair, tugged, exposed his mouth, and then he was drowning in the taste of Naruto again, all awareness of everything but his kisses gone.

They kissed against the door, Sasuke now trembling. How could the beast hold his weight for so long? They kissed on the cold planks of the floor. Naruto's body was a hot blanket of flesh that kept him warm, even as another gush of his fluids did the same. And finally, hours later, they kissed on Naruto's bed.

At some point, Sasuke did learn to kiss as Naruto wanted him to. It still quaked his insides to use his tongue in such a manner, but not as much as when Naruto would slide his wet, hot shaft along Sasuke's. Sasuke had embarrassed himself by begging only once during those dark hours. "Please," he'd murmured. "Please stop. I can bear no more." Naruto had responded by wrapping his rough hand around Sasuke's organ and squeezing. He captured Sasuke's bottom lip between his teeth, and held his gaze as he pumped his hand between them in quick, smooth strokes. Sasuke's eyes had at first gone wide, then closed in defense. He'd been expertly milked of his own seed, a small release that he'd done everything in his power to hold back.

The kisses were beyond his power to resist now. Or he was sufficiently inured to them to feel quite a bit of enjoyment so that the idea of resisting was distant. He didn't _enjoy _the enjoyment, but there was really nothing he could do about the enjoyment itself.

Due to just how much fluid coated their bodies now, Naruto's rod slid down between the halves of Sasuke's lower cheeks. The blunt head slipped over his entrance, making Sasuke break the kiss to mutter in protest. Naruto resumed it immediately, keeping Sasuke focused on him.

He didn't think Sasuke knew his arms were around him, or that he had his legs around Naruto's thighs. He was able to successfully snare Sasuke's mind with all the many ways there were to kiss. He did so again now, as he reached between their bodies and grabbed his cock. The damned thing kept roaring back to life, even after climaxing so many times. The intervals between climaxes grew longer after each one, with his last climax happening a little over an hour ago, but still. He'd never been in such a state of excitement before, had never had a man for this amount of time. He intended to savor the experience even if it killed him.

Using the sensitive head of his cock, Naruto rubbed over the ridged, puckered flesh of Sasuke's opening. The ridges abraded his cockhead unbearably, until he spilled again without warning. A muffled sound of complaint escaped Sasuke then, but he still matched Naruto's ravenous kiss. Briefly spent, Naruto settled down onto Sasuke's body. He felt an indescribable urge to sink himself to the hilt in Sasuke's hole, sure to be tight, but he waited. All in good time.

* * *

Their lips were sore, tongues exhausted, by the time Naruto heard his crew stumbling back aboard at dawn. He'd coated Sasuke's body liberally with several more ejaculations. Sasuke's stomach, legs, and chest were either sticky, crusted, or dripping with the stuff. Naruto had opened his window to let in fresh air and release the stench, but it hadn't helped much. And then he'd been on Sasuke again anyway, going for his bruised and swollen mouth.

But now there was his crew to deal with. Sasuke lay sleepily in the bed, against Naruto's side, waiting to see if they would kiss again. Naruto lifted his head at hearing his crew's raucous singing and knew they would expect him to be sober and get them safely out of port. He didn't think any of them were too drunk to perform their duties, since they were experienced enough to do these in their sleep, but Naruto had no intention of leaving his cabin. Sasuke was naked and quiescent in his bed; he would leave for nothing less than the ship burning down around his ears or pirates boarding his vessel.

He heard his name called as his friends looked for him. His activities and the reason for his absence would be known soon enough, he was sure. Yet it was a knock and the low sound of Gaara's voice that came first.

"Sir? Are you in there?"

Sasuke stirred, seemed to come to his senses, and sat bolt upright in the bed. He looked down at himself in horror, then at the door where Gaara was knocking again.

"Answer him," Naruto said.

"Yes, Gaara, I'm here," Sasuke managed. His voice was a bit rusty. He saw the sky becoming pink outside the open window. _My god, have I let him kiss me the entire night?_

Naruto gained his attention by sitting up next to him. "Can he be trusted?"

Correctly reading Naruto's intentions, Sasuke balked. "I won't have him see me like this. No one can know of this arrangement!"

"I repeat, can he be trusted?"

Sasuke heard Gaara knocking again, asking if he was all right. "Yes," he muttered. "He can be trusted."

Naruto got up and went to the door in his skin. Sasuke, ashamed to the point of fainting, dragged the bedclothes over his waist just as the door was opened enough to let Gaara's thin frame pass. It was shut again quickly and the bolt driven home.

-oOo-

Gaara looked Naruto up and down with eyes bulging with shock, but he said nothing. He saw his master sitting up in bed, obviously naked as well, and swallowed. "Are you well, sir? Do you need help?"

Sasuke forced himself to meet Gaara's faithful green eyes. "No, Gaara, I'm fine. This… this wasn't against my will."

Naruto spoke. "Gaara, your lord will be staying in this cabin from now on. I, too, will appear on deck only minimally. As such, it will fall to you to carry orders between myself and my crew. Is that understood?"

Gaara nodded.

"Good. You will bring food for us here in this room at each meal time. You will bring Sasuke's belongings up here now, first thing, and then you are to remain nearby in case we need you. Is this all clear?"

Gaara looked to Sasuke, saw him nod his permission, then looked back up at Naruto. "It is, Captain."

Naruto gave his instructions for the crew. "If they ask where I am, tell them I am indisposed. The same for Sasuke. If Chouji insists on performing his duties as medical officer, tell him I don't require them. Tell them also that the one who disturbs me for anything other than the direst of emergencies will be sent to work the bilge pump for the remainder of the trip and then left in Japan. Questions?"

"No, Captain."

"Off with you," Naruto said gently. "And bring food quickly."

Gaara left to obey.

* * *

Neji stood at the head of the knot of crewmen, listening to Gaara's recital. When the boy was done, he turned to the assembled men. He looked them over… then his lips split wide in a grin of pure, wicked pleasure. "Looks like our captain is going to be treasure hunting. Let's show him we can run the ship smoothly, shall we?"

They were red-eyed, in possession of headaches, and in need of sleep, but they performed their duties without a hitch. _Whirlwind _was under weigh shortly after sunrise.

This did not, however, prevent them from noticing Gaara carrying Sasuke's clothes to the Captain's cabin, or how the boy carried in a tray laden with food and drink an hour later.

"He's done it," Neji hissed in glee. "I bet even now he's plowing Sasuke's bunghole."

"I disagree," Shikamaru said. "How can we know for sure if the act was accomplished?"

"What else would he be doing in there with Sasuke?" Shino asked.

What indeed. The crew held off collecting their winnings, in favor of confirmation. The problem was how to go about getting it. Gaara was hopeless, completely devoted to Sasuke. He wouldn't talk. Neji sincerely wished he could see through walls.

* * *

The tray was set between them on the bed. Poached eggs, several rashers of bacon, a small wheel of yellow cheese, fresh bread still warm from the oven, and a large pot of steaming coffee. Cream, sugar, and a huge bowl of oat porridge, flavored with apples and cinnamon, completed the breakfast. Gaara had been huffing under the weight of the tray, and Naruto had needed to act quickly to save the coffee from spilling as he'd dropped it on the bed a little too abruptly.

Now they were alone again, though, and they fell to the food with a purpose. Sasuke ate neatly, if steadily. Naruto tried to imitate him, but was honestly too famished to stick with it. He ate and belched, chewed and drank as if in competition with Sasuke.

They shared the bowl of porridge. Sasuke poured the last of the sugar and cream into it, making Naruto stare. Sugar was never squandered on such things as porridge, but it definitely improved the taste. Not that it had been lacking before. Sasuke did not belch once, though. When he was full, he simply laid his spoon aside on the tray and looked around the cabin. Naruto ate what was left, set the tray on the floor, and flopped backward on the bed. He watched Sasuke with pleasure, the kisses they'd shared in the forefront of his mind.

Sunlight and cold air streamed in through the open window. Sasuke watched clouds scudding by in the bright blue sky. A myriad of sensations and feelings besieged him.

He was filthy, which made him itchy and uncomfortable. Full, which made him sleepy and content. Cold, which made him shiver. And deeply self-conscious about his actions throughout the night and Naruto's gaze on him now, which had a warm ball of shame sitting in his chest. He turned his head to look at where Naruto lay. The man didn't seem concerned at all with the food and other fluids dried on him. His eyes were lazy as they smiled at Sasuke.

"I require a bath."

"Later," Naruto countered. His new gold hoop winked in the sunlight. "Sleep now."

Sasuke thought of refusing. But he _was _full and tired. And Naruto's body was warm in contrast with the nippy air in the cabin. And sleep was a way for him to avoid thinking of the past few hours. He lay down on his side, facing away from Naruto. He hoped now the beast would leave him alone, but no such luck was to be had. Naruto came and pressed against the length of his back, and covered them both with the stained and smelly blanket. Filthy, stinking, full and warm, Sasuke was soon asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So...henceforth, Sasuke will be receiving quite the education. Maybe I mentioned it before, maybe I didn't, but this fic will get graphic.

Those of you interested in an extremely intelligent read, please check out **YamiTenshi's** _Thanatology_. Blew my mind with her talent. A must read for anyone interested in plot and well-delivered story lines. Read her, review her, enjoy her other works...^^

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 9

His sleep was deep and sublime. Even in rest, he was able to admit that he'd never enjoyed sleeping so much. While he drifted in the nonexistent place between dreaming and waking, Sasuke tried to ascertain why this was.

The walls and restrictions he lived with were absent when he slept. His mind was free to roam over truths and admissions blocked to it when he was awake. Now it found that it was quite easy to acknowledge that having a large, warm body smothering him with heat while frigid air blew around the room had to be the best way to sleep. Being full of good food didn't hurt. Nor did the soreness in his mouth and the memory of pleasure his oral activities had afforded him. Now, the pleasure was embraced fully, reminding his sleeping mind that the source of that pleasure was curled around his back, his heavy leg thrown over Sasuke's. Sasuke burrowed deeper into that heat, groaning in contentment.

Comforting blackness rolled over him, so that he was completely asleep once more. When he rose from these depths slowly sometime later, it was again only halfway, only enough for him to feel what was around him as he turned his face into his pillow with a sigh.

The funny thing about being neither awake nor asleep, was that things that were happening in the immediate vicinity tended to be incorporated into the flimsy dreams you were having. Sounds and scents wove themselves into the fabric of whatever fantasy you were having so that you just accepted it as part of your dream. Sasuke was dreaming of warm, lazy days on the beach at the Uchiha summer home. It was a clean, private stretch of sand, where he'd almost drowned some years ago. In his dream he was sprawled indecently on the warm sand, spread-eagled. The waves washed in and licked up his nude body. Each time they came, they licked up a little higher. He was almost able to anticipate where those waves would land next. They'd finished with his feet and were now moving up his calves.

Odd, that the waves were so warm. Hot even. And it seemed that there were creatures in the waves, for now it felt as if a mouth was the source of the heat, licking and nibbling his skin. These were pleasant. Sasuke extended his legs further, letting whatever benevolent creatures that found him so tasty have free reign. A sigh of acceptance escaped him.

"Oi, another mistake like that and I'll pitch you overboard! Ass!"

This distant shout, recognizable even in slumber as Neji's voice, abruptly translated the warm waves and nibbling sea creatures to a human mouth. Sasuke rose to full wakefulness quickly, dragging the realizations that he was in Naruto's bed and thus being subject to Naruto's mouth with him. He opened his eyes on a spluttering oath of affront that had him rolling away from that mouth before he really knew what he was doing.

-oOo-

Naruto watched Sasuke flail himself free of the sheet tangled around him with his head now propped on his hand. He scratched lazily at his itchy cock –still crusted with his seed- as Sasuke disappeared over the side of the bed and landed on the tray of discarded breakfast things. The crash was punctuated by Sasuke's miserable whimper of embarrassment.

One pale foot had managed to remain on the bed. The rest of Sasuke was out of sight. Naruto addressed the foot as he absently cleaned his nails of the white flakey substance that had gathered from his scratching. "Nightmare?"

Sasuke's head appeared on the far side of the bed like a jack-in-the-box, face set in a narrow-eyed scowl. He seemed unable to speak, though the words were clearly there in his mouth, longing to be said. Sasuke's lips worked a moment, pursed around whatever insult he had in mind, before his eyes fell on Naruto's organ.

Naruto was momentarily captivated by Sasuke's reaction. The man's eyes widened, turned beady, before his face wrinkled in clear disgust. Naruto looked down at himself, trying to see what was so wrong with his rod.

It was uncut, but beyond that he couldn't see any difference from Sasuke's own piece. Though Sasuke's was very pale. Years of Naruto handling his own flesh had darkened it, roughened it somewhat.

Sasuke stood, turned, and appeared to be looking for something. Naruto stretched out on the bed. "You're not going anywhere, so don't bother looking for clothes. I tossed them out yon window while you slept anyway."

"I beg your pardon?" Sasuke turned slowly, his face spread into an expression of wide-eyed disbelief.

Naruto swept his hand at the corner where Gaara had deposited all Sasuke's belongings. It was now empty. "Tossed your things out the window."

Sasuke blinked at the empty corner. His anger was sufficient to make him forget that he was standing in the center of the cabin completely nude. Naruto took the opportunity to look his fill.

There was musculature present that Naruto was sure did not grace many aristocrats. Somewhere in Sasuke's history was a story, one that would explain the body, the fighting skills, and how he came to be at Naruto's mercy in the first place. He raised his eyes to Sasuke's when one trembling hand settled over exposed privates, interrupting his perusal. "Come back here."

"You'll find that my adherence to our agreement does not entitle you to order me around," Sasuke said evenly. His spine was stiff and straight.

Adopting Sasuke's privileged tone, Naruto set his face in similar haughty lines. "You'll recall, if you will, that you gave me your word as a gentleman to perform your service to the best of your capabilities. As my lover, you are to please me. And it pleases me that you come back to bed now… or I will do away with the patience I've shown you thus far and simply appease my desire to sheathe myself in your body." Then, his good spirits returning, he added in his normal voice, "Come now, it's not so bad with me, is it? You responded to me last night well enough. Better than I could have hoped for."

Sasuke stared at the smile, at the hand held out to him, and knew a moment of madness wherein he devoutly wished he'd agreed to marry Sakura. None of this would be taking place if he had. His brother would be alive.

It was only a moment. "You are a reprobate."

The smile widened. The hand beckoned.

_I am no coward, _Sasuke reminded himself. And since the cad had brought up his shameful responses of last night, _nor am I a hypocrite. _How long would it take them to reach Japan? They couldn't arrive soon enough, of that he was certain.

-oOo-

Naruto followed him with his eyes, noting the way Sasuke moved toward the bed as if toward the headsman. Sasuke sat on the edge of the mattress. Naruto moved backward, giving room, an invitation. Sasuke took it and lay his person on the space provided, hands clasped securely over his stomach, with his eyes staring at the cabin ceiling.

Getting as close to Sasuke as he could, Naruto covered them to their chests with the blanket, and resumed his former position of holding his head on one hand. He gazed at Sasuke's face, at his still-swollen mouth. "I'd like to know a few things about you, if you're agreeable?"

The dark eyes slid in his direction without movement from the head. "Such as?"

"Well, I guess I'll start with the immediate questions, then work my way backward to how you came to be behind that pile of dunnage. Why are you resisting?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Me. Why are you resisting me if you're capable of enjoying my attentions?"

Sasuke looked away again. He was several minutes answering. "I feel I've given in well enough. If I were resisting, I wouldn't be in your bed."

Naruto waited patiently.

Sasuke apparently held a conversation in his own head; when next he spoke, it was as if he'd spent some time coming to terms with certain arguments he lived with. "I used to take pride in pursuing things that pleased me. It seemed to be a rule of the higher echelons of society that everything considered to be fun and enjoyable, be forbidden and frowned upon. No one else dared be caught behaving incorrectly. It made me feel brave and modern to flaunt this rule and do as I pleased."

Though he didn't see how this answered his question, Naruto nodded. "And now?"

"Now I find I've become the very thing I used to despise. A puppet. A follower. Some chains are hard to cast off, Naruto."

"I've never known a man less like a puppet or a follower. You're not like any noble I've heard about or seen."

"You haven't seen many then."

"What chains do you mean?"

"Socially accepted behavior. The biggest chain that governs nearly every action of the gently born."

Naruto frowned, struggling to think the words through. "If it's such a yoke about your neck, doesn't that mean you disagree with what's socially acceptable?"

"Wear a chain or a yoke long enough and you cease to feel it."

"But you know it's there. And you hate it, don't you."

"We go with what's familiar, even if it kills us. Change is often too frightening to consider, Naruto."

"I don't understand that. If something is killing me, I kill it first. And change is life, what makes life exciting. If you're not changing then you're not living. Only the dead don't change."

Thoughtful silence greeted this. "Perhaps I am dead. I have been for the last six years, at any rate." Sasuke turned his head away.

The back of Sasuke's black hair was soft to Naruto's touch. "Out there in society you can be as dead and socially acceptable as you want. In here… well, dead men don't kiss me back the way you did. In this cabin, what's socially acceptable is what's physically pleasurable. I'm the only society present. I won't judge behavior I'm also guilty of, will I?" The smooth strands slipped easily through his fingers, whispers of silk. "I'm pretty good at undoing chains, as well."

A blush that stole over Sasuke's entire body. Naruto watched it where it warmed the pallor of Sasuke's arm and shoulder. He was caught off guard when he was suddenly pushed to his back and kissed hungrily.

His senses returned so that he rolled, reversing their positions. He lifted his head only long enough to ask, "Resistance gone?"

"For now. Make me forget the chains, Naruto. Save me."

"There are no chains here."

* * *

Naruto picked up where he'd left off. Sasuke registered that he even sighed as he had while he'd been sleeping at feeling Naruto's mouth nurse at his legs. The sheer intimacy he allowed the man was almost impossible to dwell on. The amount of touching he'd done since making Naruto's acquaintance would be considered vile in the extreme to anyone he knew. Why, the whole reason behind wearing gloves in public was because to touch another's skin with one's own was considered extremely impolite. He was reminded that the lower classes did not wear gloves. Without such simple barriers, things like touching must seem commonplace to them.

It certainly was to the blonde whose head now hovered over his thighs. That another could be so close to his private areas sent fingers of apprehension crawling over Sasuke's body. During the night, things had been dark. His eyes had been closed, further negating his actions and the actions being done to him. Now there was no hiding, though they were still covered with the blanket. There was no umbrella to shield him from the truth: Naruto had unlocked the chains. It was left to Sasuke to walk free of them.

He made himself consciously relax, focusing on where Naruto's wide hands were pushing his legs apart. Warm breath fanned his skin before that mouth descended again, bathing an area of his inner thigh with wet fire. Naruto's rough tongue dragged across his skin, over his hip, to his other thigh, where the lips closed over a mouthful of flesh and sucked strongly. It made him arch off the bed, his mouth opening in a soundless cry of surprise and pleasure. Such odd things the man did. Such curiously odd, yet pleasing things he did with his mouth. The kissing, and now this.

The rumbling growl against his stomach had Sasuke snuffling out a small laugh. It tickled him, the way Naruto bit around his navel. That tireless tongue dipped inside briefly, bringing another sound of surprise from him, before working its warm way up to his nipples. Here he was forced to become vocal at last.

It was news to him, how sensitive these buds of flesh were. He did more than arch when Naruto's hot mouth closed over one. He gasped and shouted Naruto's name in warning, of what he didn't know. He was half sitting up and shoving at the head of bright hair.

Naruto pressed him back down, held him down, and made of his mouth a tight vacuum on his nipple. He was completely focused on the sharp pleasure this called up, at the way the pleasure was like a clarion call to the rest of his body. The call was answered eagerly, as if his body had waited an eternity for just such a call to awaken it. It wasn't a slow awakening, but a sudden upheaval of sensation that left Sasuke dazed and breathless. The biggest concentration of feeling was centered in his manhood, and the pouch beneath it, now harder and more engorged than it had ever been the previous night. He found his hand in Naruto's hair, holding him to the new discovery of his nipple and realized his own head was thrown back.

So many discoveries:

Nipples could be worked in unison by hand and mouth; sucking of skin afforded heady enjoyment indeed, as well as leaving mesmerizing marks on the skin, visual evidence of one's submission to unmentionable acts; An ear, a completely innocuous part of the body, nonetheless contained the ability to feel pleasure intensely, especially when bitten softly with sharp teeth or sucked unmercifully; His back, something that existed to carry burdens or fill out his jacket, elicited delightful shudders when kissed and nibbled, when rubbed tenderly; His buttocks was not there merely to enable a seated position. He knew that at some point it would be filled with Naruto's body, but who would ever have guessed that the cheeks could send him squealing into his palm with a few well-placed bites and one of those suckling maneuvers that marked him? Would wonders never cease?

The biggest discovery was how his body was like an orchestra. Naruto conducted each instrument, each body part, until his body gave off a symphony of pleasure that was a true masterpiece. He'd never known that pleasure could be experienced in any place other than his genitals, or that such things as fingers (sucked diligently) and knees (nuzzled relentlessly) were connected to every other part of him, and capable of augmenting the symphony immeasurably.

-oOo-

When he was made to turn over again, Naruto came and rested his heavy weight on his chest, his chin pointy and painful on Sasuke's sternum. His blue eyes were bright and avid with his recent activities and Sasuke's responses to them. Sasuke barely had the energy to hold his stare, so thoroughly had Naruto's mouth wrung him of strength. He wasn't left too long wondering what was next.

"Since I'm still only just beginning the oral phase of our confinement together, I thought I'd see if you were up for the next part." Naruto wriggled on Sasuke's body, hummed in pleasure. His eyes darkened. "Feels like you're definitely up… which is handy since I'll be initiating you into the wonders of oral gratification."

Sasuke licked his lips, attempting to bring his mind to bear on what was being said. "Was not all this oral gratification?"

"Hardly. Not as I understand it, anyway. I've purposely ignored your rod till now, but it calls to me."

This was said with such a private look of predatory enjoyment, that Sasuke pushed himself to a reclining position, slightly afraid. "My… rod? My god, is that what you people call one's manhood?"

"Actually, I used that word so as not to violate your sensibilities. I generally call it my cock."

"A cock." Sasuke experimented with the word.

"Cock, cod, rod, it makes no difference. All shorter than saying manhood every time, though, don't you think?"

"Cock," Sasuke whispered, still fascinated by the word. Then, remembering Naruto's earlier statement, "Calls to you? I'm sorry, how does this relate to oral-" He sat up suddenly, causing Naruto to straddle his thighs. "You're not thinking of putting your mouth on my man- on my rodcock?"

Naruto looked at the bulging black eyes, the flared nostrils, and threw his head back to yodel out a laugh of hysterical proportions. God help him, he would go to his grave remembering that look! "Rodcock!" he gasped. "It's one or the other, not both."

Sasuke scarcely thought that worth mentioning. When Naruto had calmed down and wiped his eyes, he tried again, this time working a tone of reason into his words. "You cannot think to perform such an act. It is beyond base and depraved, it-"

Naruto was suddenly silent and watchful as he reached between them and handled Sasuke's softening arousal. Sasuke softened as well, wilting from his stiff posture of outrage. He leaned back against the headboard, speaking soundlessly as Naruto squeezed gently.

"Now that I've successfully scattered your wits," Naruto chuckled, "why don't you take the time to remember that you enjoyed my mouth on other parts of your body?"

"That… that was different." It was difficult to focus on anything but the texture of Naruto's calluses.

"Let me put it another way. If you expect to be free of chains, you need to submit to what I do to you."

"Do to me…?"

Naruto's voice was muffled, his head now lowered in preparation for replacing his hand. "Yes. Do to you. I'm going to do a lot of things to you that you'll take objection to… but I'm willing to bet you'll enjoy them. Shall we see?"

* * *

Neji, Shikamaru, Temari, Chouji, and most especially Gaara, turned and froze with their eyes on the captain's cabin door at the throaty yell that throbbed across the deck. Gaara's lower lip trembled at imagining what torture his master must be going through, but he'd been expressly told not to go near that door unless summoned. An order given by the captain and backed up by his master.

Kankurou put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and rubbed his hair when Gaara turned his wet face into his chest.

Neji smirked wolfishly, eyes shining with maniac glee.

* * *

He couldn't breathe.

His head was craned backward, mouth sagging open, but he could not draw breath.

Naruto's mouth sucked and pulled hotly on his cock. The combination of suction and gliding whenever Naruto moved his head back was like the door to Hell being opened; an invitation to be tempted to the dark side. Nothing that felt so good could possibly be anything but of the purest evil. "Christ Jesus," Sasuke prayed hoarsely.

He was rewarded with a hum of reprimand that had him beating futilely on Naruto's shoulder. His hand hardly affected the broad expanse, other than to bring out another, stronger hum that had his pouch tightening as it emptied his seed in rich, pulsing bursts. His hips rocked upward powerfully a time or two before he could control himself.

And still Naruto suckled him.

Another shout was gathering in his breast, rolling out of his throat, but Naruto's hand came down on his face, silencing him as he finished with a lingering suck to the tip of Sasuke's cock. Sasuke lay shuddering in shame and unspeakable revulsion. And in secret, disgraceful pleasure. _That _would never be admitted.

As if it needed admitting. The look of smug satisfaction on Naruto's face as he settled by Sasuke's head said he knew all that Sasuke was hiding.

"You're no better than a whore, with your filthy practices," Sasuke wheezed. "Worse, even. A whore would never behave as you did just now."

"Really? I'd say you were cheated of your coin, then. Any whore who failed to perform such _basic _services was either ill-educated or lazy."

"Do not tell me such an act is commonplace among you?"

"What happened to making you forget your chains? I thought you wanted to be saved."

Sasuke tried to roll away from the knowing expression. He was pulled back and held tightly to Naruto's side. "Kissing is one thing. What you did-"

"Was the tip of the iceberg. So far, I've been pleasuring you. Have you forgotten that you're the one with the debt? You should start taking notes. I intend to be paid."

Sasuke was aghast. "Not like that, surely? Never say you expect me to behave worse than an animal and do as you've done?"

Naruto gave him a considering look. "'We go with what's familiar because change is too frightening.' That's what you said, isn't it? I think I understand now." He leaned into the anxious face below him. "Did you enjoy that last part?"

"Spawn of Satan!" To think that Naruto had actually _swallowed _his seed… Sasuke felt sick.

Naruto blinked. "I'll take that as a yes."

"How _dare-_"

"But since you are dead set against admitting you like what you feel, I see no reason to take your feelings into consideration. I will use you like the animal you think I am. It's sad, since a short time ago you were actually openly enjoying yourself. Turn over."

Sasuke sobered instantly. "No, I-"

"Pleasure is not something to feel ashamed about, Sasuke. And calling me the spawn of Satan just because it's how you feel for enjoying what I did helps no one, least of all yourself. If you really want to be free, then you need to accept that some things are considered wrong because small-minded people can only control you by taking away what you love. Now, turn over. Your bigotry is starting to taint my own pleasure and I won't let that happen."

"Wait… please."

Naruto waited.

But Sasuke could not bring himself to admit he'd found pleasure in such a disgusting act. He looked at Naruto imploringly, silently asking for understanding.

Naruto did understand. To a point. What he couldn't understand was why it was so hard to let yourself enjoy something. Enjoyment of life was something that came naturally to anything that breathed, wasn't it? He didn't have the patience to coddle Sasuke's upbringing, not when the man was capable of such abandon. If only he could release the man from his own prison of rigid behavior…

-oOo-

He would. He already had with kissing and mouth play. He was making progress. Sasuke had once told him that he'd cut out his heart if Naruto approached him. He'd come a long way from that already. Naruto was confident he'd have Sasuke acquiescing to all that he had in mind. _And one day you'll beg for it, Sasuke. I swear it. _

For now, he gathered Sasuke close, and soothed his ruffled feathers with more kissing. The ache in his own loins was fierce and painful. He would have Sasuke swallowing him whole by tonight at the latest. He paused in his soft chewing of Sasuke's bottom lip. "Resistance gone? For good this time?"

A brief hesitation. "I won't resist."

"Your word?"

"My word on it."

Another heated kiss, this time with Sasuke's own participation meeting Naruto halfway. "You did enjoy it, Sasuke. Tell the truth." He spoke against Sasuke's lips.

"…I did."

"I can suck you again… there, and other places…"

"There can't possibly be any more private places. I'm relieved. At least now I know I've experienced all there is to know of oral gratification. There will be no further surprises."

_That's what you think,_ Naruto smiled to himself.

This little conversation took place in whispers between kisses. The kisses themselves climbed in urgency as both men succumbed to the feel of desire. Desire for pleasure, desire to be touched. Sasuke rolled on top of Naruto, and the latter grunted in approval of the weight. Sasuke's hands were hot where they gripped his face, and he'd progressed enough now to make slight rocking motions against Naruto's pelvis, already mimicking the blond's actions from last night. It could be that Sasuke associated kissing with humping now, but Naruto wasn't sure. He grasped both halves of Sasuke's ass boldly and guided the motions to a stronger movement.

Sasuke released the mouth beneath his to quietly gasp as he felt his crisis approaching again. He left his mouth open, hovering over Naruto's, as shivers worked up and down his spine. "_Ahh… ahhhh_," he hissed.

Naruto rotated Sasuke's hips, smearing the warmth he poured out on them both. Sasuke's cock twitched throughout, his ass flexing in Naruto's palms, then he lay weakly on his chest.

When he was turned to his back, and his genitals licked and sucked clean of his seed, he didn't protest. He didn't even look away. Naruto saw the new acceptance and nodded in approval.

"Maybe there is hope for you," he told Sasuke with a wink.

_I'm hopelessly doomed to be debauched by this mad man, _Sasuke thought with a feeling he found familiar. It was a while before he recalled the pleasant tingle in his chest as the feeling he used to get when defying his father. At realizing this, he smiled a small smirk. Juugo would have recognized it. _Perhaps there _is_ hope for me after all._

The chains were left behind.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: You people would not believe how sick I've been. As a result, I got this to my beta late in the week, obviously too late for her to get it back to me in time. I'm sorry if the un-edited version detracts from the story, but I read through it myself...so if there are typos, pls bear in mind that I spent today and last night with a sick friend and haven't slept more than an hour or two in 4 days -.-

Thank you^^

* * *

Chapter 10

Naruto was hunting through his trunk, looking for something. He was crouched on the balls of his feet, a position that displayed him in all his earthy glory. Sasuke, sprawled limply face down on the now-filthy mattress, studied the way the muscles in Naruto's back rippled smoothly as he searched for whatever it was he wanted. He heard Naruto utter an oath and smiled lazily. The smile turned into a yawn.

Sasuke blinked and was mildly surprised to see a large tin basin (or small tub, depending on how you looked at it) sitting in the middle of the cabin. Even as he was registering this, Gaara came struggling in through the door ahead of a clothed Naruto carrying two full buckets of heated water. Naruto told Gaara to leave the buckets and bring supper. Sasuke saw Gaara throw a worried, anxious look his way.

"Captain, can't I see about my master first? He's been hours without my assistance."

"I'm seeing to him well enough."

"But-"

"Bring food, that is how you can see to him." Naruto gave Gaara a gentle nudge toward the door.

Sasuke could see that Gaara intended to take a stand. "Begging your pardon, Captain, but it's his orders I take and him who I serve."

Naruto cocked a hip, staring down at the trembling redhead with hooded eyes. "And whose ship do you think you're standing on?"

"…Yours, Captain."

"Whose food are you eating?"

"Yours."

"What's that?"

"Yours, _Captain_."

"And who's paying your brother and sister, in short, enabling you to live a life away from Kiba?"

"You are, Captain."

"And you would still defy me?"

Gaara's eyes and tone had not wavered once during this interrogation. Only his hands shook, where he held them stiffly by his sides. He spoke with conviction, however ill-advised. "Yes, Captain."

Naruto put a stern look on his face to hide his smile of approval. "Well, then. By all means see to him." He swept his hand wide toward Sasuke in invitation.

Gaara scampered to the bed and dropped to his knees beside it. He leaned close to Sasuke's face, shielding his hands –and the note they contained- with his body. "Are you well, sir? Can I get you anything?"

Sasuke carefully took the note shoved into his hand without looking at it. "I'm very well, Gaara, thank you. As a matter of fact, you can get me something. My clothes seem to have suffered a mishap. Perhaps you could locate something for me to wear?"

Gaara nodded vehemently, eyes feverish. "I will, sir. Are there further instructions?"

From the intense look on Gaara's face and the way he subtly tipped his head toward the note hidden in Sasuke's hand, Sasuke understood that he was to send a reply at some point. He cleared his throat to say formally. "That will be all for now, Gaara. Well done. You may check back with me later to see if I require anything." He gave what he hoped was a meaningful look of understanding.

Gaara nodded seriously. He stood and left by way of the door Naruto held open for him. The door shut, and Naruto leaned against it with his arms folded, looking at Sasuke with an amused expression.

"Is something amiss?" Sasuke asked, now openly reading the note.

"The boy thinks you're being held against your will. I do believe he's planning an elaborate rescue."

Sasuke was forced to agree. Especially after reading the note and holding up the sewing needle it had contained. According to the note, Sasuke was to jab it into Naruto's eyes (_both_ of them, Gaara had stressed in the note) while Naruto lay sleeping. Gaara would have by then incapacitated the rest of the crew and Sasuke could then take over the ship and sail them to freedom.

Naruto came to the bed and sat down at seeing Sasuke's frown. "What is it?"

Sasuke folded the needle in the note once more, and placed both note and needle under the mattress. He looked at Naruto and replied absently. "You took away my clothes in order to have control over me, but you must let me leave this cabin, Naruto."

"Why? What did the note say?"

"It's not so much what it said as what it implies." And what Sasuke had understood clearly was that, though young, Gaara was resourceful. He'd seen that with his own eyes whenever they'd landed in port, but to know the boy was capable of incapacitating the crew in some way was a sobering thought. Gaara would go to any lengths to serve his master, as any proper manservant should and would do. Sasuke himself had trained Gaara thus. He would be guilty of negligence and betrayal if he didn't honor his arrangement with the boy. The boy feared for him. It was Sasuke's job to set him at ease. "Let me talk to him."

"You can talk to him here."

Sasuke met the direct stare with one of his own. "I've given you my word I'll honor our arrangement. Do you believe I'll jump ship?"

Naruto waved a hand, snorted. "If you did, I'd swim after you, no problem. No, I just don't want my men seeing you."

"Why?"

"Because then they'll know what we're doing."

"You were on deck just now…didn't they see you?"

"Yes…"

"And?"

"I'm Captain. They'd never dare approach me with questions."

"I can hold my tongue, Naruto," Sasuke said dryly.

"I just don't see why you can't speak with him here."

Gaara came back just then with the large dinner tray dragging at his thin arms. Sasuke capitulated. "Very well. But leave me alone with him."

"I-"

"Naruto, I can resist you just as easily as I give in."

Naruto got up and left the cabin. Gaara dropped the tray on the desk with a whistle of relief, then ran to the bed.

"Did you read my note, sir? Are we escaping tonight?" Gaara's eyes were wide, but his voice low and controlled.

_Such an exceptional child, _Sasuke thought. _Were I ever to have a son, I'd wish for him to be like Gaara. _He gestured for Gaara to sit beside him on the bed. Gaara did this, eyeing the way Sasuke drew the sheet around his waste. "Gaara, what do you know of relations between men and women?"

"Relations? Cousins and such?"

Ah, yes. Gaara believed a cup of contaminated wine was how one begot children. Sasuke cleared his throat. "Not quite. Have you ever seen people kissing?"

An odd expression settled on Gaara's face. Sasuke would have described it as carefully, deliberately neutral…while hiding a wealth of sudden apprehension and vigilance. Most peculiar. "Yes, sir."

"And-"

"Sir, don't."

"I beg your pardon?" Sasuke was nonplussed. Gaara never contradicted him, and most certainly never gave commands. He raised a brow in gentle rebuke.

"Don't try and tell me a story about what's going on in this room. I know what's happening to you."

All thoughts of reproof left Sasuke to be replaced with curiosity. "You do?"

"Yes. The same thing that happened every night to my sister when we were with Kiba."

Gaara had never spoken of anything that had happened before he'd met Sasuke outside of peeking at girls and his mother's dying words. "Oh? What happened?"

Gaara's face held that same odd look, but now his voice had the slightest tremor. "Kiba and his men called it poking."

A small smile took shape on Sasuke's mouth before he saw that Gaara wasn't smiling. Not at all. "Poking?"

"Yes, sir. Kiba always got first poke at Temari. Then the rest would argue over whose turn it was to have a poke or who had poked longer than who. Sometimes they poked her till she bled. When Kankurou tried to protect her, they threatened to cut off his claim to manhood. Whatever that is."

Sasuke blinked down at Gaara, realized the boy was sweating, and opened his mouth to ask what this all meant. His mind pieced together Gaara's words, his expression, and the sudden sweat with startling clarity of a sudden and he gasped. He put a hand to his mouth. "You…your sister was violated, wasn't she."

Gaara didn't answer. Whether this was because he didn't understand the word, or because there was no need to confirm it, Sasuke didn't know. He lowered his hand from his mouth, gazing at Gaara closely. "Why do you think that's happening in here?"

"I listen at the door. I hear the captain making the same kind of sounds Kiba and his men made. It smells in here, just like Kiba's shack used to smell after everyone had poked Temari. And I hear the others talking. There's some kind of bet going on."

Sasuke sat there, gravely taking it all in. He'd underestimated his manservant, but no more. "Gaara, listen to me."

Gaara merely blinked.

"What happened to your sister was a crime, one Kiba and his men should be punished for. But that's not what's happening here. Relations are not meant to be used to hurt other people…they are used for begetting children. And…for pleasure."

Gaara listened, said nothing. He watched Sasuke's face.

"It is common for men and women to relate in this manner, but occasionally there are men who…well, prefer other men. Your Captain is such a man. I know I haven't spoken of my circumstances at length, but Naruto has saved my life, Gaara. He's rendered me crucial aid and for that I owe him a debt. This is how he chose to collect on that debt, and I will tell you now, honestly, that he is not forcing the payment of it from me. Do you understand?"

That blank stare.

Seeing it, Sasuke was chilled. He could well believe this slight child capable of taking on a crew of seasoned seamen. That stare hid depths of unknowns. And what was unknown could come up to bite you while you were unaware. "Gaara? Do you understand what I've explained?"

What Gaara understood was that where previously he was his master's sole companion, his confidante, now he was being pushed aside. Debt or no, forced confinement or no, it was his place to obey his master. Aching inside, and swearing to hold his tears until he was in his bunk, Gaara slid off the edge of the bed. "I'm here if you need me, sir."

Sasuke's stomach cramped at hearing the low voice clogged with insult. "Gaara-"

The boy paused at the door. "And if he's hurting you, I'll kill him. I know how to do it." This was said in a whisper.

Gaara slipped out of the door, right past Naruto himself, who entered hurriedly. The door was shut, locked. Naruto came over to him and sat on the bed. "So? You set him straight?"

Sasuke badly wanted to follow Gaara, to comfort him. He'd abandoned the boy, allowed another to order him around…why, Gaara must feel betrayed! He swallowed, disturbed at what a horrible master he'd become in the space of a few hours. At remembering how Gaara was willing to stand up to Naruto's wrath for him, he reasoned that he could do no less.

Naruto was tugging the sheet from Sasuke's waist, already leaning in to nibble his cock. Sasuke snatched the sheet back forcefully and stood up. He faced Naruto with every ounce of command and self-possession at his disposal. His tone brooked no argument when he said, "Gaara attends me as he and I are both accustomed to him doing from this point onward. He belongs to me, no matter that we are both on your ship. I am paying for my passage, and the right to keep him, as I recall. If you require something of him, you come to me. Otherwise, he takes no orders but mine, and as per our original bargain, he may enter this room during the day. At night, he sleeps with the rest of the crew."

"No."

"Our deal is at an end, then."

"No."

Sasuke tightened the sheet about his hips. "You can try to stop me, Naruto, but the fact is this: You had your way with me because I allowed it. And it was not pleasurable enough for me to abandon my servant or forget his loyalty."

The atmosphere in the room, previously one of budding closeness and intensity where they were concerned, turned frigid and forbidding. Each stubborn gaze clashed with the other, intent on getting their way.

"You want the little pisser? Fine," Naruto said between his teeth. His voice was unnaturally calm. "But I am through cosseting you. Drop the sheet."

Sasuke took a moment to regret that it had come to this, but resolved to treat this as the business transaction that it was henceforth. He was being blackmailed, plain and simple. There was no place for enjoyment or feelings in such a situation. The sheet slid to the floor.

* * *

Naruto stood and went to the tub. He dumped the buckets of now-warm water into it, filling it. A cake of soap and a rag were in the water. Sasuke went to the tub without being told, noticing for the first time that Naruto's hair was slightly damp. He must have bathed while Sasuke had been sleeping. He stepped into the water.

It only reached a few inches higher than his ankles. On further inspection, Sasuke saw that this was the tub Temari used to do the laundry in. He was stooping to take the rag and soap up, when Naruto beat him to it. He also had a small jug in his hand.

Sasuke spluttered at the first dousing Naruto gave him with the jug. He upended the thing on Sasuke's head, flattening his hair, before he bent, retrieved more water, and proceeded to pour it on the rest of Sasuke's body. The water was only lukewarm now. The room was like an icebox. Sasuke shivered, but did not complain. And Naruto did not seem to care.

He washed Sasuke methodically with the rag, working up a good lather. Sasuke's attempts to take over the task earned him sharp slaps on his hands. Sasuke's mouth thinned at the offense, but he remained upright and still. His hair was scrubbed thoroughly. Naruto then caught Sasuke to his chest and held him immobile with one beefy arm. Sasuke was momentarily distracted by how close their faces were of a sudden. He immediately thought of kissing, but then the reason for the embrace became apparent.

A thick finger, surrounded by the wet rag, pushed its way roughly into his rear passage. It probed deeply for a moment. Sasuke sucked in a breath to bellow his outrage, but the finger was removed. Sasuke was released, whereupon he nearly tripped on the edge of the tub and went sprawling. He managed to steady himself. He faced Naruto, his anus hot and quivering in the aftermath, and prepared to give him a piece of his mind. That thought left him completely at feeling the same rough rag, this time supported by Naruto's hand, close around his cock.

The friction was ungodly.

Sasuke's eyes held the challenging blue gaze as that hand 'washed' him in tight, punishing strokes. Naruto's forearm flexed as he squeezed the length of flesh in his fist. Sasuke felt his knees becoming unhinged and bore down on the sensation of his impending release. He would not succumb. He would not!

Naruto finished with a last yank that jerked Sasuke's body forward despite how inflexibly he held himself. He looked down to find his cock red and raw. The tingling sensation left behind did nothing to lessen his erection.

-oOo-

The water, now cold, was poured over Sasuke repeatedly until he was free of soap. He was told wordlessly with a toss of Naruto's head to exit the tub.

Naruto fetched a drying cloth for Sasuke and threw it to him. "Dry yourself."

When he had, Naruto moved to stand beside his bed, feeling Sasuke's eyes follow his movements. He stripped the mattress of its stained sheet and took up the sheet that was currently covering the gaudy mirror. He spread this on the bed. When the bed was made, he turned and beckoned Sasuke to come over.

Sasuke recalled a part of their deal that had yet to be addressed. "What is the service for keeping Gaara?"

Naruto noted the steady tone of voice. "We'll get to that later. Now is a good time to tell you that I won't be putting up with too much of your noise. Understood? We'll keep this as businesslike as possible."

"You speak as if it was more than that once. That's all it ever was."

Naruto stared into those black eyes and thought, _The hell it was. You kissed me back, begged me to save you. By God I'll feel your heat again before this voyage is done. _Out loud he said, "If you say so. But as my lover, you will please me as I tell you to."

"That's slavery."

"That's the arrangement. Either perform it as I wish it performed or get the hell off of my ship."

Sasuke closed his mouth.

"Light the lamp," Naruto said. "Then come and undress me."

The lamp was lit and set on the desk. Sasuke came and began unbuttoning the coat Naruto had put on while he'd been on deck. He moved behind him to tug the heavy garment off his arms. He set it aside. Next, he lifted Naruto's shirt from the hem of his pants and pulled it over his head. He went back around to Naruto's front and began unbuttoning his trousers. He had to constantly remind himself to be distant. He would not be pulled into an emotional display.

He had to stoop to undo Naruto's boots. Then he was able to tug the pants down and off. Naruto stood in his long underwear. Sasuke paused, glancing at Naruto's face to see if this was also to be removed. He saw that it was and schooled his features to neutrality.

Once the golden brown skin was exposed, Sasuke found it hard not to remember how it had felt pressed along the length of his body. Hot in slumber, even hotter in wakefulness, when he'd been kissing Naruto or having his cock suckled. He kept his eyes at chest level after his first inadvertent glance below Naruto's waist.

"It's no use trying not to look," Naruto said as he turned to sit on the bed. "We're past the virginal shyness now. You'll be getting well acquainted with my body in the coming weeks. And I'll be getting to know yours. Here." Sasuke looked and saw that Naruto held out a tiny brass key to him.

He took it. "What is this for?"

"The cabinet behind you. Open it and bring out the oil you find in there."

Sasuke looked at the tall, narrow cabinet built into the wall by the desk. It had always been locked. He'd never known what the thing contained. Upon twisting the key in the small lock now he found that it contained shelves with peculiar items indeed. He located the glass bottle of oil and brought it to Naruto. He held it and the key out to him.

Naruto took the key. "Oil your hands. Relieve me."

"I beg your pardon?"

Naruto gestured at his cock. "Relieve me. Or I'll have to relieve myself on your body and I don't think you're quite ready for that. Do you?" He leaned back on his hands and spread his legs.

Sasuke looked at what he was supposed to be touching as he uncorked the oil. It was erect, red, and giving off an odor distinctly its own. A heavy, somehow _ripe _smell that was not precisely unpleasant. Had he been aware of this smell before? He didn't think so. Sasuke was helpless not to think of the odor as that belonging on a wild animal. He'd never smelled anything like it and concluded that this was what being of the lower classes meant; you stank no matter if you'd just bathed.

He disliked kneeling, but it did afford him the proximity he needed to get the job over with. The threat of Naruto using his body had been duly noted and filed away. He filled his palm with the oil and reached for Naruto's tumescence.

They both shivered. Naruto in groaning pleasure, and Sasuke in sudden distaste. The thing was warm and hard and mobile. The skin move over the engorged tissue in such a way as to call attention to the large vein pulsing against his fingers and how truly hard Naruto's cock was. Like iron. Warm iron, clothed in skin. It filled his hand so that his long fingers could barely meet around the thing. Sasuke summoned up a recollection on how one whore had handled him this way and began moving his hand uncertainly up and down.

Naruto stopped him. "Slow down. Squeeze, turn your hand."

Sasuke set his teeth and did as bidden. When he had this simple movement mastered, Naruto took his other hand and placed it above the one already on his shaft. He showed Sasuke how to move both hands in opposite directions, traveling up and down the entire time. Naruto seemed to be suffering, his voice strained and sweat on his brow, but he made sure Sasuke knew what to do.

Only then did he tell Sasuke to use his new knowledge until he told him to stop. "When I tell you to," he reiterated. "Not when I spill my seed." Sasuke nodded and began again.

It took some concentration, but not enough to detract from the way Naruto put his head back and groaned. His face was slack with pleasure, his throat working whenever he swallowed. His large hands gripped the sheet near his thighs. Sasuke's eyes traveled over Naruto's body, noting how his abdominals tightened, how his chest bunched and flexed, how his thighs tensed. _I have complete power over his body with the simple act of holding his cock in my hand, _Sasuke thought in wonder. It came to him that he'd thought the way he'd experienced such pleasure at Naruto's touch and mouth was irregular. He'd thought it was only him, but if Naruto was also capable of being brought low to the depths of slavery (for Sasuke _had _felt enslaved to Naruto's peculiar ministrations, as the man was now clearly enslaved in turn), well then by all means Sasuke would see to it that he performed so admirably as to put the blond beast firmly in his control.

Now then. A bit of invention was in order if the task was to be accomplished properly. Sasuke let his hands glide up and down the hot, oil-slicked shaft thoughtfully as he considered. Naruto grunted and thrust his hips upward every so often. Experimentally, Sasuke squeezed sharply, tightening his hand unmercifully for a moment.

Naruto bucked nearly strong enough to stab Sasuke's eyes from his head with his cock. He bellowed.

Biting his lips to hide his smirk, Sasuke resolved to do that again shortly. When Naruto had calmed down, lulled by Sasuke's resumption of his earlier slow up and down slide, Sasuke eased the ski covering Naruto's tip downward.

A bulbous, glistening, leaking head of flesh was exposed. Naruto hissed in air and spread his legs even wider.

Sasuke stopped his movements for a few seconds, briefly mesmerized. Here was the source of Naruto's wild smell. Right here, this head that was roughly the size of a lemon. Sasuke squeezed the shaft in his hands and watched a small amount of clear fluid swell out of the meaty lips of Naruto's opening. He recalled how Naruto had suckled his cock as if a babe to a teat.

Dirty.

Yes, it was. It had been a dirty act, one that had nearly blinded Sasuke with pleasure. He'd never done anything as dirty as the things he'd done in this room. The allure of doing something so base, surely _the _dirtiest act a human could perform, more so that actual copulation with a man, caused Sasuke to salivate. He was going to do it. He was going to put his mouth on this weeping, pungent cock and take suck as Naruto had done. He met Naruto's gaze, unsurprised to find the blue eyes dark and watchful on his face.

It took a few tries to work up his nerve, but when he finally touched his lips to Naruto's shaft, it sent a bolt of electricity humming through him. Naruto must have felt it, because he jerked powerful against Sasuke's mouth, nudging his lips hard.

It took longer for him to tamp down his disgust enough to open his mouth. The fact that there was burning curiosity beneath his disgust, and a certain dark, voiceless pleasure helped. He let the cock slide into his mouth, let it widen his jaws, and then just stopped. He knelt there, Naruto's cock in his mouth, consciously aware of how his acquaintances would view him if this became public knowledge.

It was salty. Most of that was probably due to the dunking Naruto had taken in the sea while he'd slept, but some of it was just him. Sasuke found the taste…interesting.

Naruto settled his hand behind Sasuke's neck and gave a very gentle tug, a suggestion. Sasuke felt saliva gathering in his mouth and swallowed. Naruto shuddered uncontrollably. His hand gripped Sasuke's neck harder and a sigh escaped him. "_Please,_" Naruto hissed.

Sasuke responded to the plea, to the clear power he had over Naruto, and mastered his growing doubt. He adjusted his kneeling position slightly, took a firmer grip on Naruto's length, and attempted to put all his new knowledge to use.

To use both hands and his mouth took coordination, a feat Sasuke was able to execute after a minute or two of slurping and squeezing. Naruto whispered further instructions –make his mouth tighter, suck harder, rub faster- that further enabled Sasuke to perform this act with success. Naruto grew to weak to hold the back of Sasuke's neck; he could barely hold himself in a sitting position. His face was contorted into such an enraged expression of monstrous pleasure that Sasuke was half afraid.

Naruto abruptly roared, shoving Sasuke away at the same time. Sasuke landed on his arse, sprawled at staring as Naruto fell backward on the bed, shooting his release into the air.

Sasuke wiped at the one stream of seed that had landed on his neck. Naruto twitched and gasped on the bed for some time, then was still. Sasuke got warily to his feet.

He'd thought Naruto was asleep, but apparently not. The man sat up shakily, spotted Sasuke, and leaped from the bed to tackle him. Sasuke's hair was pulled sharply as Naruto crushed him in a searing embrace, placing his open mouth on Sasuke's neck. The length of Naruto's soft organ was between them, but one of Naruto's hands moved downward to clamp firmly around Sasuke's own flaccid member. He began massaging it, handling it so that Sasuke stiffened against his will. His body was losing it's defensive posture, wilting in Naruto's arms as the mouth sucked him and the hand squeezed him.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke gasped.

Naruto went still. Keeping his face in Sasuke's neck, he asked, "What?"

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said again. "For angering you earlier, but I had a right to say what I did and I don't think it's just of you to hurt me in retaliation."

Naruto lifted his head. Sasuke's eyes were nearly closed, his mouth open for whatever use Naruto wanted to put it to. His face was flushed, and even now Naruto could smell his own essence on Sasuke's breath. "You think I'll hurt you?"

"Won't you? You seem bent on making whatever happens in here as humiliating and painful as possible. You said you were through cosseting me. I'm aware that your earlier…attentions were kind. If you intend now to be-"

"I won't hurt you, Sasuke." He searched the dark eyes with his own. "But I won't deny myself what I want anymore."

"Because I defied you? That's petty. I'm trying to make the best of an untenable situation. I said I wouldn't resist. Why do you need to boorish about it just because …why are you being boorish? All I said was that Gaara stays with me from now on."

Naruto dropped his arms, stepping back from Sasuke. "Him being here during the day means less time for me to touch you. I don't want that."

"Oh?"

"I don't want to leave your side for any reason, Sasuke."

Sasuke swayed with the motion of the ship as it created a large swell. "I see. May I ask why?"

"I want you."

Sasuke felt his cheeks warm, but did not look away from the eyes boring into him. "Is there any particular reason that you do?"

Naruto only let his eyes drop, raking Sasuke's naked body longingly. A look of pure need. When Naruto held out a hand to Sasuke, Sasuke took it without hesitation. He was drawn down to the bed, rolled to his back, and covered from head to toe by one heavy, hot, hungry man. He pushed against the heat when it tried to pin his arms above his head, turned his face into the hungry mouth, and decided the reason was unimportant. For now.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Food fight ;P

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 11

It was a surprise to Sasuke to find how much he'd missed Naruto's touch. The fire ignited swiftly in him now, responding to Naruto's kissing and the contact of his skin as if it had never gone out. Naruto lifted his head from this latest kiss to catch Sasuke's eyes with his own. "Suck me again."

He didn't wait for Sasuke to answer, but rolled to his back so that Sasuke was on top of him. He pushed downward on his shoulders until Sasuke's face was in the correct position. Naruto grabbed his cock and held it to Sasuke's lips, already panting.

This time Naruto participated. He rocked his hips upward rhythmically, fisting a handful of Sasuke's hair at the same time. Sasuke found this movement in and out of his mouth uncomfortable. His jaws creaked around Naruto's girth, and his cock kept hitting the back of Sasuke's throat, making him want to gag. Again, Naruto withdrew before finishing, not letting Sasuke swallow his seed.

Sasuke sat up and wiped his mouth, but Naruto drew him back down so that they were both facing the foot of the bed. Sasuke noticed the mirror again.

He'd never used a mirror for anything other than to check to see that his cravat was folded correctly or that his hair didn't require more pomade. It was an ordinary object under those circumstances, hardly something to think twice about. Seeing the way Naruto hovered over his body now in the mirror, nibbling his way down Sasuke's back, gave the simple glass a kind of dark attraction. Reflecting two naked men as it was, the mirror seemed sinister, the embodiment of the forbidden nature of Sasuke's activities. He couldn't look away. He was able to see as well as feel how the full pink lips closed warmly over a morsel of flesh on one buttock.

-oOo-

Naruto pulled his hips upward, positioning Sasuke on his knees with his head lowered on his forearms. He'd seen Sasuke looking in the mirror and now looked too. They both looked, meeting each other's eyes in the mirror with Sasuke's raised ass between them. "You said there were no more private places on your body for me to taste?" Naruto asked quietly.

Sasuke managed a nod from his position. "There aren't. You've tasted my buttocks and my cock already. What else is there?"

Naruto shook his head in admonishment. "How about here?" He brushed the pad of one thumb over the puckered entrance.

Sasuke shot up and off the bed so quickly that Naruto was left blinking comically at the empty space in front of him. His eyes tracked to where Sasuke stood across the room. "What? You're not resisting or refusing, are you? Because that would be going back on your word."

"I can't allow that," Sasuke said in an unsteady voice. "That is the final depravity… how is it you are able to even _think _of such acts?" His eyes darted to the door, to the soiled sheet on the floor, apparently looking for clothing or escape from any quarter. "You go too far in the name of pleasure. As if such an act could possibly be pleasurable."

In keeping with his edict not to mollycoddle Sasuke, Naruto got up and pulled him back to bed by an arm. Sasuke didn't outright resist, but he was not precisely willing either. Naruto didn't bother to try convincing him, only pushed him down onto the bed in his previous position and held his hips raised in the air again. He spread Sasuke's ass with his palms and stared at the small, pinkish, tightly closed orifice.

A grunting sob of acute humiliation and mortification escaped Sasuke as he twisted his face in the mattress, but he kept an eye on Naruto in the mirror. His entire body shivered in a heat wave of embarrassment at being so exposed and stared at so intimately. "You won't leave me a shred of dignity, will you," he said bitterly.

"None," Naruto replied quietly. He lowered his head.

Naruto's tongue was made broad and flat as it licked powerfully over the wrinkled opening. Sasuke jerked, cried out in confounding pleasure. He tried to rise up on his hands, but was pushed back down, Naruto keeping his back at a sharp angle.

The caress from Naruto's tongue wasn't repeated. Sasuke was able to calm down from his panting state of desire somewhat, wondering what Naruto was playing at. Sasuke risked a glance at him through the mirror and found the blue eyes ready for him. They held his, challenging him, waiting for…

Oh. Bastard.

But he had to feel it again…

"Please," Sasuke said in surrender. "Please… do it again."

Such hot suction… such wicked, wicked pleasure… such dirty delight, and forbidden enjoyment, and how _glorious_ it felt to throw off the last of his inhibitions in this final, most _personal _act of dissipation. Iniquitous, reprehensible… but so frighteningly _good._

Sasuke saw in the mirror how his mouth fell open around high, womanish sounds of pleasure, how his derriere writhed beneath that blond head, how his eyes glazed over when the suction increased, and began losing the ability to see entirely when Naruto's tongue entered him. He panted brazenly now, sharp gasping inhalations that accompanied his other cries of pleasure.

Naruto grunted into Sasuke's opening in approval and sheer hunger for more abandonment from him. He sucked harder. The taste… he'd never before tasted ass. It had not been something any of his past partners had been willing to allow. The musky, slightly bitter flavor nearly drove him wild now, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold off for too much longer from having Sasuke completely. Not when the man had sucked him off like a pro and had to stifle his own yells of pleasure even now. He'd never had a man respond like Sasuke did, ever. His past lovers simply took it in silence, that was all. They were usually in an alley or some back room somewhere, someplace where sound wasn't desirable. Every past encounter had shared the same quality: it had to be quick so as to avoid discovery. There had never been _time _to enjoy himself or to discover what another man would enjoy… but he'd had fantasies. He had many fantasies, and he intended to live out every one.

Right now, though, he was drunk off his first taste of ass.

-oOo-

Sasuke's knees failed him. His cock was swollen fit to burst, gorged on blood and pleasure from the ruthless mouth behind him. "Naruto," he begged faintly. "Damnation, you're killing me!" Then, "I can't… let me lay down…"

He wasn't answered, but Naruto did stop long enough to turn Sasuke to his back. He raised the shivering white knees over his wide shoulders and resumed immediately. Sasuke sobbed, his senses overloaded, and his nerves sizzling. His hand found its way between his legs through no direction from his brain. He only meant to hold himself, to give the abominably painful appendage a modicum of relief… but the moment he closed his hand around it, his seed flew out of him, and then his hand was pumping busily to milk out the rest, and he shouted unreservedly at how wonderful the sensation of being unmanned while having his hole sucked was. He was left nearly crying in the aftermath, utterly disoriented and weak as a kitten.

Naruto took pity on him and stopped. He lowered Sasuke's legs, each surprisingly weighty and well-developed, to crawl up and lie next to him. Sasuke turned into him and laid heavily on his chest, shaking and gasping as if having barely survived a near-death experience. Naruto stroked the head on his chest, licking his lips of the taste of Sasuke's ass. He wanted more. Soon. For a wonder, he slept.

* * *

Sasuke regained his faculties to find Naruto snoring at his side. He studied him a moment, before quietly getting up to inspect the dinner tray. There were several dishes on the large circular tray. He found a cask no bigger than his fist, filled with some sort of soft cheese they'd picked up in their last port. There was hard bread and soup that was now mostly cold. He lifted the corner of a linen napkin and found a plate of sticky buns, dripping with honey, next to two large tankards of dark ale. Sasuke sat at the desk in his skin and broke off a piece of bread. He soaked it in the soup tureen before biting off the softened mass.

The soup was thick with meat and potatoes, almost a stew. It was delicious even cold, and Sasuke was reaching for the rest of the bread when an open mouth landed on the back of his neck, startling him senseless. "What the devil-!"

He was dragged up and pressed over the tray, spilling soup over the desk beneath him. He saw from this position that the bed was empty, but by then he'd already surmised that it was Naruto attacking his ear with his lips and tongue. A shudder worked through him at how quickly his hunger pains were replaced with anticipation, how thoughts of protesting or resisting did not surface at all. He saw one tankard of ale grasped in a large hand a moment before the thing was upended over his back. Cold liquid ran over his shoulders, down his back and over his buttocks… one of Naruto's hands spread his cheeks roughly so that a healthy trickle of ale ran even here, traveling the length of the groove to drip from his seed pouch. A moan of dismay escaped him. What new madness was this? Food was not to be treated so rudely!

That mouth. Sasuke had the irrational thought that Naruto did not truly need his cock when he had such a mouth, capable of doing such things. The man had intercourse with his mouth, tantalized with it, and pleasured with it… it slurped ale off his back now in noisy greed, moving up the valley of his spine. The same mouth dragged downward again to where Naruto's hand still held him spread, and proceeded to drink from Sasuke's nether opening as if from a holy chalice. Sasuke reared to his toes, beating the desk with one fist as he bit his lips in torment. Sweet torment.

Spotting the other tankard, Sasuke saw that it yet contained ale. He grabbed it, twisted abruptly, and splashed the liquid all over Naruto's front. He couldn't say what had come over him all of a sudden, only that he wanted more of the man and wanted to drink from his body as Naruto had drunk from him. The _ideas _the man came up with!

Naruto blustered in surprise at the ale hitting his face and chest, then Sasuke was there to shove him to the wall, intensifying his shock… until the dark head bent to his nipple and latched on there. Naruto's head hit the wall as he threw it back, hugging Sasuke to his chest with one arm. His guttural groan of potent pleasure filled the room. "Ohh, _god!_"

Sasuke slipped to his knees, emboldened by his actions so far and the taste of ale lapped from skin. Naruto's rock-hard cock greeted him with more ale dripping from it. Sasuke felt no hesitance whatsoever before shunting the blunt club of flesh to the back of his throat. He pulled back immediately, not meaning to take that much in, but Naruto dragged him forward again by a hand in his hair. Ale and salty skin flooded his senses as he finally remembered to grab the shaft as he suckled.

"Sasuke!" Naruto gasped.

Sasuke bit him. It was unintentional as well, but before he could apologize, Naruto slapped his face sharply, dislodging his cock from Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke fell backward, the back of his hand to his cheek. Naruto glared down at him in anger and passion. For a few moments, Sasuke considered whether or not to continue, Naruto seemed so furious. It was the passion still clouding Naruto's eyes that decided it for Sasuke; he hooked a foot behind Naruto's ankle and toppled him, rolling so that he was quickly lying on top of his chest. Naruto's cock was pinned between Sasuke's thighs and held captive as he rained apologetic kisses all over Naruto's face. Thus immobilized, Naruto quickly forgot his anger. He tightened his arms around Sasuke and found his mouth again, sighing in deep satisfaction at how Sasuke met his ardor with desire of his own.

Somehow Naruto's hands ended up rubbing along Sasuke's sides. Sasuke broke the kiss around a deep laugh, squirming. Surprised, Naruto stilled his hands and leaned his head back to see Sasuke's face. He probed with one hand at Sasuke's ribs and was rewarded with another laugh. "Don't," Sasuke said in embarrassment. "I'm afraid I've never outgrown that childish reaction. My brother used to tickle me till I cried."

"You're ticklish?"

"Deplorable, isn't it? You won't exploit that knowledge, I hope? It would be beneath you."

Naruto widened his eyes innocently. "I wouldn't dream of exploiting such knowledge," he said seriously. Right before he attacked Sasuke's ribs with single-minded determination.

Sasuke cackled most disgracefully as he tried to roll to safety. Naruto dogged him, following him all over the floor and pouncing without respite. He tickled Sasuke's ribs, his feet, his neck, his legs… he was diligent in locating every ticklish place on Sasuke's body.

Sadly, Naruto wasn't ticklish in turn, a fact Sasuke found out when he tried to exact revenge. Put out, but still laughing, Sasuke spotted the small cask of cheese by his side on the floor. It must have fallen from the desk. He picked it up now and hurled it at Naruto's head with deadly accuracy.

Naruto caught it, opened the cask, and found the cheese inside. He glanced up at Sasuke with a diabolical grin. He dug out a handful of the soft cheese and went after Sasuke with it.

Sasuke roared in mock rage as Naruto caught him and smeared the white stuff down one side of his face.

The cabin shook and shuddered as a furious battle erupted wherein each man struggled to be the one to befoul the other with the most cheese. The stuff was daubed, wiped, smudged or spread on nearly every inch of available skin before the cask was empty and Sasuke was again caught. His cheesy person was tickled again with cheesy hands until Sasuke's face was red, and his eyes squeezed shut as he wheezed for mercy.

Naruto pinned Sasuke with his body and held his limp hands up near his head. He gazed down into the still-smiling face. _He's so beautiful when he's happy, _he the face carefully, trying to memorize it as it was now, Naruto spoke quietly, thoughtfully. "You have to pay for my mercy."

"More payments? You're not a charitable person."

"The same payment."

The smile faded a bit, but the eyes were still bright, still steady on his face. "I see. Now?"

"If there's no objection?" He was still cataloguing the reddened cheeks, the lashes wet with tears of laughter, the dark hair glossy with lamp light where it wasn't matted with cheese. "I can prepare you some more… if you feel-"

"I'm ready."

"-like you need more time-"

"I'm ready."

"-know I said I was done catering to your-"

"_Naruto_." Sasuke freed a hand to place it on Naruto's cheek. "I said I'm ready."

They sat up, facing each other. A full minute was lost as Naruto continued to stare at Sasuke's face. Sasuke didn't look away. Naruto did, glancing around his food-strewn cabin. The place was a veritable sty of filth, what with the dirty sheet, and spilled ale, and sticky buns here and there. He looked back at Sasuke and decided that he would have him in the filth, this very night.

He felt transported, as if his body had left this world and he was in the land of dreams. Sailing the sea in his own ship, with Sasuke ready to receive him… nothing was real. And yet, it was very real. The sticky feel of the cheese on his skin, the way his cock throbbed in time to his heart beat, and the way Sasuke swallowed anxiously now all made it very real. Still, he was loathe to break the spell with words as he whispered, "Are you afraid?"

"It's unbecoming of a man to admit fear," Sasuke whispered back. "I'm terrified."

A snort of laughter left Naruto, breaking some of the tension. He looked at Sasuke once more. "Are you really?"

"A little. Nervous, mostly."

"I won't hurt you."

Sasuke shrugged one shoulder, which told Naruto that pain wasn't necessarily what he feared. Their smiles faded.

Naruto held out a hand and Sasuke took it. He was half pulled, half guided to sit in Naruto's lap, facing him. He stared downward into the blue eyes made dark by the dim light of the lamp. Naruto tried to rub his arms soothingly, but this was made impossible due to the cheese coating them both. It was starting to dry in stiff patches.

Sasuke watched as Naruto bent to suck at a bit of the cheese on his shoulder… then arched at how good the heat of his mouth felt. A sigh escaped him. He noticed a similar smear of cheese on Naruto's neck and decided to give him the same treatment.

* * *

There, in the amber light of the lamp, with a colossal mess around them, they reverently ate, sucked, and licked cheese from each other's bodies. It was intensely erotic, this oral adoration, quite aside from how it felt to have warm lips and tongues nibbling across their sensitive skin. Sasuke moaned in bashful confusion at the sheer intimacy of it. The previous caresses, even ones similar, had been geared toward experiencing some form of gratification. This, the way Naruto took his time about removing each and every trace of cheese with powerful sucking or repeated licks, this was more than that. Naruto could have washed him off in the tub again, but he didn't. Naruto was giving him something now, offering him something with the attention he gave with his mouth. Sasuke couldn't say what it was, but he was moved to respond in kind and felt an enormous sense of accomplishment whenever he caused Naruto to hum in pleasure.

Sasuke's nipples were given particular attention, until he was panting and gritting his teeth at the tides of desire rising in him. His cock was revisited and likewise thoroughly cleaned with Naruto's meticulous mouth. And yes, cheese had found its way between his lower cheeks, for which Naruto was only too happy to attend to. Sasuke was rolled this way and that as this went on, as Naruto hunted for and found cheese under Sasuke's arms, behind his ears, in his navel. Sasuke was given the distinct impression that their earlier play with the cheese hadn't been random at all. Naruto had deliberately put cheese on certain areas of Sasuke so that he might have the pleasure of eating it off of him. Such wicked cunning, Sasuke thought with shock.

Naruto nudged Sasuke toward the mirror until he was standing in front of it, holding the sides and staring at his reflection less than six inches from his face. Naruto's reflection disappeared. A moment later he felt himself being spread and that devious tongue snaking up his sheath once more, and the effect was just as devastating as he remembered. It simply could not be possible to feel these things… how anyone could dare to put their _mouth _in such a place… it didn't bear consideration…

He was forced to close his eyes, unable to look at his wanton expression of lust anymore. He leaned his forehead against the cool mirror, and concentrated on remaining standing. A particularly vicious suck had him biting his lip till it was raw. Throaty sounds came from him that he tried to check… it couldn't be right to let on what that mouth did to him, could it? At last Naruto stood, and he could be heard rummaging behind Sasuke, hunting through the mess of the cabin for something.

Sasuke watched through the mirror as he came back with the oil. He turned around to look down at where Naruto filled his palm with the clear liquid and slicked his organ liberally, greasing it well. He stroked himself towards Sasuke, priming his cock as it were, before retrieving more oil and gesturing for Sasuke to turn back around. He came up behind him and pressed his chest to Sasuke's back. He dropped his chin on Sasuke's shoulder so that they stared at their reflection together in the mirror, cheek to cheek.

Naruto's oiled fingers probed Sasuke's sensitive ring of muscles as he met the black eyes in the mirror. He held the widened gaze as he rubbed for several moments, held it as he pressed two fingers in deeply and scissored them to loosen the muscles, held it as Sasuke gasped and tried to buck Naruto off his back. Naruto held his ground, gripping the side of the mirror around Sasuke so that Sasuke was trapped. The third finger had Sasuke clenching his jaw. He made grunting sounds, digging his nails into Naruto's forearm. Naruto stilled his hand. "Sasuke?"

"Christ, give me a moment," he choked out.

Naruto waited. When Sasuke had relaxed somewhat, he began making slow, deliberate scooping motions in his ass, making sure to keep the rest of his body pressed to Sasuke's back.

Almost immediately Sasuke moaned in a different tone of voice. His body shuddered in pleasure this time, instead of pain. "The way you're moving your hand now feels much better than before," he breathed. "Dear _god_, Naruto… oh. _OH!_"

Naruto stilled his hand again, alarmed. "What?"

Sasuke elbowed him viciously. "Don't stop!"

"Stop what, what did I do?" Naruto awkwardly tried moving his hand again the way he had been.

"No," Sasuke hissed in frustration. "You… there was something you touched before…"

"Where…here?" Naruto felt Sasuke's frustration as his own.

"_No_." Sasuke cursed bitterly, upset that the pleasure was gone, not to be repeated.

Naruto looked at Sasuke through the mirror, at his disappointed face, at the way he leaned his head against the glass in annoyance. Sasuke had come a long way indeed. Naruto had done something to please him, had erred somehow by not being able to repeat the action, and now Sasuke was regretful.

That just wouldn't do.

It was beyond his wildest expectations or dreams that Sasuke could be so willing with him, yet here he was, participating beautifully. If the man wanted a specific touch, then Naruto would move heaven and hell to give it to him. He looked down between their bodies, leaning back a bit. He called to mind the way he'd been moving his hand and carefully resumed the scooping motion.

Sasuke murmured in enjoyment, but Naruto was focused completely on the three fingers he had in Sasuke. He experimented. He pressed deeply, shallowly, firmly, gently… finally, when he pressed deeply and downward a bit, Sasuke jerked and cried out. Naruto froze, keeping his fingers to the spot. "Here?" he asked hopefully.

Sasuke nodded frantically, his mouth open, his entire body quivering.

"Right here?" Naruto asked again to make sure. At Sasuke's high-pitched bleat of affirmation, Naruto nodded. He resumed the scooping motion once more, this time scraping that place with the tips of his fingers with each twist of his hand.

It was fortunate that Naruto kept Sasuke anchored to the mirror with his body, with the way the man thrashed about. Lucky also, that the mirror was bolted to the floorboards. Naruto did fear briefly that Sasuke would shatter the glass with his fist, but then he grabbed it and held it above Sasuke's head as he increased the pace of his hand. The sounds Sasuke made were a bit too deep to be considered screaming, but they were close. Naruto cast a glance behind him, making sure the cabin door was securely locked. He didn't want Gaara coming in and putting a knife in his back while he was occupied.

Other than that, Naruto's thoughts were taken up entirely by this discovery in Sasuke's body. That he was able to rip Sasuke's mind asunder with such a relatively simple touch was like a precious gift from the gods. The whimpered moans of helplessness clawed through him until Naruto's own desire could be denied no more. He gradually slowed his hand until he stopped entirely. Sasuke leaned weakly against the mirror, recuperating. Naruto put his chin on Sasuke's shoulder again, kissed his cheek and mouth, since Sasuke's head was conveniently turned aside. He smoothed the sweaty, cheese-caked black hair away from Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke?" he murmured.

"Mmmh." Sasuke's eyes were closed. "If I ever think to refuse your advances at some point in the future, simply threaten to never do _that _again, and I will go down on my knees to appease you."

Naruto chuckled richly, highly amused. "Is that so? I'm glad to hear that. It has been noted." He left another kiss on the tip of Sasuke's nose. "Sasuke?"

"Yes?" His eyes were still closed.

"Now."

Sasuke opened his eyes to regard Naruto's serious face, not three inches from his own. "Oh. All right, then."

They held each other's eyes a moment longer, until Naruto shifted. He took hold of Sasuke's buttocks and spread the halves wide, holding them open with one hand as he guided his cock to Sasuke's well-prepared entrance.

Sasuke watched Naruto's bowed head through the mirror. He saw how his own eyes were dark pools of sudden excitement. How would it feel? If it felt anything like what Naruto had been just doing…

It didn't feel anything like that. Naruto's fingers were thick and rough, but this… his cock stung and burned as it forced its way into his body. Sasuke felt his skin stretched tightly, too tightly. He hissed, putting a hand behind himself on Naruto's stomach, silently telling him to stop. Naruto stopped.

It was slow work. Naruto paused at one point to coat himself with more oil, after which he again tried to enter Sasuke without causing him too much pain. Sasuke fought him; his muscular ass clenched shut in defense, his cheeks clamping together so that Naruto had to grunt as he pried them apart again. He poured oil on Sasuke's hole directly, on his cock, on his hand as he again tried loosening the already loosened muscles. After much time, he was able to slowly ease all the way in, very slowly since Sasuke swore in discomfort throughout the penetration.

-oOo-

Naruto needed a moment once the operation was complete to recover. Sweat covered them both. Sasuke's harsh panting fogged the mirror, as did Naruto's. A vein stood out in sharp relief on Sasuke's forehead as he breathed through his teeth. Naruto's cock throbbed in reproach at the tight confines it had been shoved into. It was not happy. Naruto sympathized with it.

"You… you do know what you're doing, yes?" Sasuke rasped weakly. "This… feeling, is it normal?"

"I know what I'm doing," Naruto assured him after clearing his throat. "Just never done it with someone who's… never done it."

"Oh."

"I'll go slowly, all right?"

Sasuke nodded.

Backing out of him was nearly as torturous as going in had been, but the oil helped. Naruto did go slowly, as slowly as it was possible to go while still maintaining movement. This went on for several silent minutes.

It seemed that stimulation kicked in for them both at the same time. Sasuke gasped as Naruto filled him yet again, and Naruto felt heat suddenly swamp his entire body as Sasuke's ass abruptly felt _fantastic._ It was no longer a forbidding receptacle, but a veritable furnace of tight, oily pleasure. He pumped smoothly now, sliding in and out of the increasingly mobile Sasuke easily.

Sasuke nearly swallowed his own tongue at how sinfully good it felt to be sodomized. He could think of nothing in his prior experience that even came close… nothing ever came close to the things Naruto did to him, but my god, this was… it was… He was kept on his toes by Naruto's height and the fact that the man nearly lifted him entirely with each hard, driving thrust. The pleasure was too great for him to voice. His mouth remained open in an O of shameless satisfaction. He looked at himself in the mirror, at his red cheeks, and at Naruto behind him, whose face was a mask of stern pleasure indeed. He glared at Sasuke with burning eyes, pumping his hips hard enough to make the mirror creak as it began coming loose from the nails holding it to the floor.

His seed erupting on the mirror surprised Sasuke. A short yelp left him, but further sounds were hammered from him by Naruto's relentless thrusts. His joints all went weak. His knees were bending, sending him towards the floor, but Naruto grabbed him around the waist and moved to walk to the desk. This brief respite from the thrusting was welcome, but then Naruto was putting him down and bending him over the desk. He swept the surface free of dishes with one arm.

Now he did shout. This new position afforded Naruto deeper access to his body and the new depth left Sasuke unable to hold in his cries. He shouted until he was hoarse, then bit his fist until his knuckles were almost bloody. And still Naruto pounded into him with all the force of a mountain slide. Sasuke had to consciously tell himself to be strong, that he could handle Naruto's desire if he could withstand the bloody cane. Thus reminded of his own strength, Sasuke set his teeth and attempted to survive Naruto's tireless body.

* * *

Outside the captain's cabin door, Naruto's friends sat in a semi-circle, passing a flagon of ale around. They listened to the sounds alertly, as if attending the opera. Each change in pitch or tone to Sasuke's hollering was dutifully discussed in whispers, as though discussing a lecture from a particularly learned professor. Shino kept track of the time. Winnings from the bet had already been handed out, so that they were free to enjoy the performance.

Gaara stood behind them, arms crossed, feet spread. He glared at the Captain's cabin door in mute hatred. Temari came up to him and fondled his hair. She asked if he was hungry. He shook his head. She started to go, then hesitated.

"Sasuke is a strong man. He wouldn't allow anything he didn't want, Gaara. And we all heard how he stood up to the captain for you after you went to him today. He hasn't forgotten you, sweetie, I'm sure of it."

Gaara was slightly mollified. His master _had _stuck up for him today, as they'd all heard when they'd had their ears pressed to the door. They'd also heard all the roughhousing and laughter, murmuring in amazement that Lord Sasuke could make such carefree sounds. Gaara had been visited by a strong desire to be a part of his master's laughter. No one played with him like that.

Sasuke's yells climbed another register. This time Naruto could be heard grunting too.

"Sounds like we're at the crescendo of the number," Shikamaru said with quiet calm. He sipped ale before handing the flagon to his right, to Chouji.

Chouji sipped and passed the ale on. "Do you suppose each time will be like this?"

Neji took the flagon and held it as he considered. "I'm going to issue another bet and say yes. Naruto's… how do you call it. He's... what's the word?" He sipped before handing the ale to his right.

"I think the word you want is passionate," Shino said as he took the ale. They were all speaking in whispers. He sipped. "He's passionate about everything. This would be no different. Quite the opposite. Since he rarely gets to indulge his passions, I'd say Sasuke will be lucky to be alive when we reach Japan."

Thoughtful, appreciative nods. Their heads cocked in unison as Sasuke yelled out a foul word…

"I'll take that bet," Lee said after a moment.

"So will I," Kankurou added.

Money exchanged hands. The ale was passed around again.

* * *

"Ahh… huuhhh… God in heaven, Naruto! I… haaaaiii… ohhh… st… st… _stop!_ Damn you, stop ere I die of your lust!"

"I can't," Naruto panted. "I'm sorry, I can't… soon… almost… there…"

Tears and mucus ran from Sasuke's eyes and nose, but he couldn't honestly say the episode wasn't pleasurable. By all that breathed, it was _too _pleasurable. It could not be borne, the pleasure Naruto gave him, could not be endured at all.

But he was forced to endure it, and nothing his father had put him through, or anything else in his life to date for that matter, had prepared him for such uncompromising pleasure. Pain he could withstand. Adversity, oppression, these things he could and did withstand and thrive under beautifully, but pleasure? This unholy, lethal, appallingly _delicious _pleasure? Never. He was sure he would expire in short order if-

A few blindingly hard thrusts accompanied Naruto's roar and the hot release of his seed deep in Sasuke's raw hole. Sasuke's stomach was shoved painfully into the edge of the desk at Naruto's frenzied thrusts, but he didn't complain anymore. He lay in weak relief with his cheek resting in the puddle of saliva that had drooled from his mouth in his most mindless moments.

Naruto picked him up and fell with him onto the bed, curling around his body soon afterward. A moment, wherein they each considered speaking of the act, but then Naruto was sleeping, purring in contentment into Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke felt where Naruto's cock lay wet and fat against his back, felt where his rectum burned as if in flames, and where Naruto's seed began running out of him. His mind went over all that he'd experienced this evening, noting each point that had stood out for him. _I wonder how often Naruto will require my body like that? I seem to recall Itachi overhearing Mother complain of Father wanting it once a week, which was too often for her… _

Then he too was sleeping.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I seriously need to change the summary for this fic.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 12

He wasn't even awake when next Naruto wanted him. He came awake to find his legs being thrown over Naruto's shoulders in a most insulting manner, and his sore passage penetrated in one furious, unstoppable thrust. There was oil and seed lingering around his entrance or it might have been more painful, but he was soon stretched wide around Naruto's cock anyway, and the thrusts wiped out all thought.

He wasn't fully awake, either. He had a dim impression of what was going on, but his mind was still predominantly asleep. He had a hazy glimpse of the dark cabin and the large, shadowy shape hovering over him. That was all. All except the pleasure he was drowning in. Asleep as he was, his body was free to feel more intensely and he found the slow, deep thrusts almost had him screaming in ecstasy. He managed to work his legs off of the shoulders –that position was highly uncomfortable- and let Naruto guide them around his waist instead. Something about this new position put Sasuke in mind of women, but it felt good to hold those strong hips with his thighs. It felt even better to put his arms around the muscular torso and turn his face into Naruto's sweaty neck.

-oOo-

Naruto paused his thrusts to peer down at Sasuke. He would never have guessed the man capable of turning so soft. He mewled and nuzzled now as if he was a bride in love. He held Naruto as no man had ever held him, gave of himself as no one ever had. Naruto had never seen or heard of any man showing the kind of affection Sasuke showed. He resumed his thrusts slowly, thoughtfully.

Before, when he'd slapped Sasuke for biting him, Sasuke had taken the initiative and knocked him down. Then he'd lavished kisses all over him. He'd liked it. And he liked this version of Sasuke that was finally free of chains. He liked the way Sasuke held him and touched him, and kissed him… and if there was a better cocksucker anywhere, Naruto would eat his boots.

But.

But this new side of Sasuke was also disturbing. If it meant the man was falling in love, then Sasuke was in for a world of disappointment. Naruto didn't do love. Love between men couldn't last, couldn't flourish, not in this society. He'd seen friends endure heartache times without number, unable to openly be with those they loved. Those who'd tried to defy society and subsist on their love… well, not a few of those had been quietly murdered in the dark. That wasn't to say Naruto would be so easy to take down, or that he feared such an end… but there was just no _point _to love. All it did was make you behave irrationally.

He was mad for Sasuke's body, keen to have him surrender to the pleasure and fun they could have while on this ship, but it didn't go beyond that. He told himself this repeatedly as he emptied his sac of seed. Afterwards, he held Sasuke close again. He liked holding him. It felt good to have his arms filled with Sasuke's solid warmth and to feel how he scooted his ass against him. Sasuke murmured something about wonderful heat in Japanese.

Sleep eluded Naruto for awhile.

* * *

To Sasuke it seemed as if the next few days were one long dream. His mind was fogged continuously with sex and lust and desire. Sleep was mixed in with these feelings liberally so that he never quite knew when he was awake, when he was dreaming, or if the times he and Naruto made love (yes, he'd progressed to viewing what they did in these terms) happened while he was awake or asleep. He knew nothing, really, except that Naruto was never farther than a foot from his side and his cock was in him more often than not.

The mirror was ever a part of this dreamy state of madness. He'd seen himself on all fours in front of it, being taken from behind brutally. Naruto had held his gaze in the mirror as he hammered him with his hips. Sasuke remembered his own face as being unrecognizable. Those feverish black eyes, gaping mouth and pink cheeks didn't belong to him, did they? When had he _ever _worn such a wild look of enjoyment?

Yet another time he'd glanced over at the mirror and found himself sitting in Naruto's lap on the bed, his back to Naruto's chest as the man sucked the side of his neck. Naruto's hand fondled Sasuke's cock boldly, stroking lazily up and down. To see himself handled that way, without a word of protest, with that blond head at his neck and his own chest arched in surrender… that too, couldn't be him. Not even whores engaged in their trade with such abandon.

Sometimes, in between the sleep and the love, there was conversation. Sometimes the dream, if it was all one long dream, went from loving to conversation with no break at all, nothing to show where the loving had stopped and the conversation had begun. Sasuke found himself in the middle of one whispered conversation when just the previous moment he'd been sucking Naruto's cock.

"-never did tell me what happened," Naruto was saying. He was braced on his elbows over Sasuke, the length of his long powerful body smothering Sasuke's with heat.

Sasuke blinked in sleepy confusion. "I'm sorry? What happened when?"

"When I found you." Naruto bent his head and left soft, sizzling kisses along Sasuke's jaw. "How did you come to be behind that pile of driftwood? Why did your father kill your own brother? Why is he after you?"

Sasuke quite suddenly realized that Naruto's cock was plugged firmly and deeply in his body. His legs were around the blond's waist, a position that kept him open and receptive to the thick, hard appendage inside him. He inadvertently clenched his lower muscles around Naruto and the man hissed. He groaned as if in agony. He stopped kissing Sasuke's jaw to bite his neck. The bite wasn't hard, but he did hold Sasuke's skin in his teeth as he drew back and proceeded to pound his rear canal with savage force. Sasuke could do little besides ride the frantic motion of Naruto's hips. His breath was jarred out of him with each thrust, but he held on with arms and legs, feeling his own cock swell until it seemed ready to burst, and his seed pouch ache terribly until Naruto grabbed him and milked him of his release. He did this while releasing his own seed in Sasuke, who by now loved the hot rush of liquid within him.

Naruto collapsed on him and there was a time when nothing but clouds and shadows danced in Sasuke's awareness. Then Naruto was leaning up in his former position on his elbows, still inside Sasuke, this time nibbling his chin. "Well?"

That mouth was distracting. "I was running away."

"From what?" Light sucking on his chin now, that sent shivers chasing along Sasuke's body.

"From my father's tyranny. From an arranged marriage. From my life."

"Oh. And then what happened?"

Sasuke frowned, moving his chin away from Naruto's mouth to see his eyes. "Are we speaking in Japanese?"

"Have been for the past two days, yes. What happened when you ran away? Where did you go?"

Sasuke had to think a moment. He called up the events in his mind, but what he ended up saying was, "Is it morning or night?"

"Early evening."

"Oh. Itachi helped me run away from the manor. I bought passage on a ship… the captain and his crew turned out to be dishonorable. They waited until we'd left the Hudson and were out to sea before they made known their intentions to kill me and send a ransom note to my family."

The nibbling kisses stopped. Naruto's eyes blazed in anger. His voice was low, yet cut the air like a whip. "Which captain was this? When next I'm in New York-"

"I didn't get his name, but he is dead. They all are. When they tried to use force on me, I fought them. Some I was able to kill immediately. The rest went down when I set fire to a powder keg. The ship burned and sank."

Naruto's face held shock. "The whole ship went down?" Sasuke nodded. "What about you?"

"I had by then jumped to safety. I watched it sink before swimming back to shore." The stare Naruto gave made Sasuke laugh softly. "What? You don't believe me?"

"Let me get this straight. You swam? From open water, up the Hudson, to where I found you?"

"Yes."

Now Naruto ran his eyes over Sasuke's body, leaning sideways to do so. "I always knew you were more than your average blueblood, but that… Sasuke I don't think even I could swim such a distance."

"Well I stopped to rest sometimes. It took me the entire day, but honestly, it wasn't _that _far. I could still see land faintly from where the ship sank."

"Still. No wonder you were able to swim those waves to save Gaara." Naruto shook his head. He resumed his previous position of laying on Sasuke, propped on his elbows. "What did the captain look like?"

"Mm… ginger hair, none to clean. The eye that wasn't squinted shut was green, I believe. He had a scar on one side of his neck and a large mustache."

Naruto grimaced. "That's Myers. Good riddance, he was a lying, cheating son of a whore. Sunk him and his whole ship, my Sasuke did. That'll teach him to mess with you, won't it?"

Sasuke felt his face bloom into a smile he knew had not graced his features since Itachi died. "Am I?"

Naruto was nibbling his chin again, traveling up to his smiling mouth. "Are you what?"

"Yours."

"Completely. I can't bear to be away from your body for more than the minute or two it takes to bring food to the bed. I own you, Uchiha. For the time being, at least. Does that irk you?"

Sasuke stilled the busy head so that he could look into those eyes that seemed more beautiful with each passing day. "Not at all." He took possession of Naruto's warm mouth.

Naruto took his breath away with the slow, yet forceful lovemaking that followed. Sasuke always felt as if his breath was gone when they made love in this position. Naruto would squeeze him so tightly, and thrust so fiercely, that he sometimes felt as faint as a woman. But Naruto was always there to kiss him back to his senses. Those were the sweetest times in the dream.

-oOo-

Sometimes the dream was dark and violent, though, with him surfacing to find himself thrown to the wall and being taken without gentleness or affection. Sometimes this happened on the desk, or the floor, or in the chair. A few times he fought back, seriously at that, until Naruto was forced to back away from his rage, watching him warily. Sasuke remembered holding a broken piece of the empty oil bottle. He'd looked down to find it bloody. Naruto had gotten his attention then by calling to him from across the room where he was cringing against the wall. He had a hand to a leaking wound on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," Naruto had panted. "I won't force you again… it's just, you've been sleeping so long, and I need you…"

He couldn't recall sleeping, or waking, or even stabbing Naruto… but he dropped the shard out the window and went to him. He cupped his face in his hands, apologized, and inspected the shallow cut on his shoulder. "Let me tend it," he'd said.

Naruto let him, watching Sasuke carefully the entire time. "You're scary sometimes, you know that?" Naruto whispered. "There's no taking advantage of you, is there. I won't underestimate you again."

Sasuke gave a half smile, bandaging Naruto's shoulder securely. He kissed the white linen when he was done. "Is there food? I'm famished."

-oOo-

Sometimes Sasuke would find that they made love while they were both mostly asleep. Naruto would roll with him on the bed, murmuring and nuzzling him, and rubbing his hands all over Sasuke. The bed would creak with the force of Naruto's hips and Sasuke would release his seed in a dreamy eruption that left him floating on bliss. Once Naruto had said, "I love when you come, your face always looks so surprised."

"What's 'come'?"

"This." And Naruto had suckled him until he'd come down his throat.

Sometimes he came while Naruto ate him between his lower cheeks. Sasuke would be still and let himself feel that mouth and tongue ravaging his hole. The pleasure would climb in him in small degrees, tiny waves, until finally after an hour of sucking and licking, he would come quietly with a few gasps. Then Naruto would plunge into him and make him come noisily, or suck his cock until he had to bite his hand to silence his shouts.

When they ate, it was in silence. They sat up in bed, eyes glued shut with sleep, and chewed like mindless zombies until the food was done. There would follow a stupor of repletion or sleep, blackness, then Naruto would be on Sasuke, over him or in him and the dream would continue.

-oOo-

"And what is your tale?" Sasuke asked as he straddled Naruto's hips another time. He liked this position because it afforded him control. He bit his lip as he sank onto Naruto's ready rod, filling himself so completely that he felt sure he would split in half. He breathed a moment, then looked downward at Naruto. "How do you know Japanese? Where are your parents?"

Naruto always had trouble speaking when Sasuke rode him. The man was a born devil when it came to sex, noble or not. He spoke now in broken sentences, his breathing erratic as Sasuke took up a slow rhythm. "Dead… they were missionaries in Japan. They left when I was small to set up house in America… oh… shit… _fuck!_"

Sasuke had learned a long time ago that squeezing his inner muscles did interesting things to Naruto. He gave another protracted squeeze and watched the blue eyes roll to the back of Naruto's head. "You were saying?"

"Guhhh… haaa… fffshssshsh…"

Sasuke helped him out. "Were your parents originally Japanese?"

"N-no. They lived their entire lives there, were born there, to missionaries who were from… from… Sasuke…"

Sasuke picked up the pace, now stroking himself as well. "How do you have a Japanese surname?"

"Great grandmother married a farmer named Uzumaki… Sasuke, please, if you have any mercy in you…"

"Why did your parents leave Japan?"

"Wanted a better life for me. We landed in California… my dad died soon afterward… me and my mom made our way east… took years… _Sasuke, I'm begging you…_"

Talking ceased as Sasuke rode Naruto ruthlessly. He came with a moan, Naruto came with a whine, and then the dream shifted.

-oOo-

They were on their sides, Naruto holding him close. "Your prudish language is sexy, but I'm kind of tired of it."

"My language? I don't know what you mean." Sasuke tilted his head in the crook of Naruto's arm to see him better. There was sunlight that glinted off Naruto's earring.

"What do you call that hole I shove my cock into?"

Sasuke colored. "It isn't something that needs to be named."

"In your mind, what do you call it?"

"… I suppose I call it my…" Sasuke's nerve failed him. "Nothing. This conversation is low, even for you." He tried to turn away.

Naruto turned his face back toward him. "Say ass."

"I beg your-!"

"Say it. Say ass and fuck."

"Never."

There was a short glaring contest, which Naruto conceded after a few seconds. "As you wish."

He released Sasuke from his grasp with a small smile and turned his back. He was soon snoring.

Sasuke slept, woke, slept. The dream was fading. Reality was setting in and Naruto did not touch him for a long time. Maybe a day. Maybe longer. They ate, talked, slept, but there was no lovemaking and no kissing. Not even hugging. Sasuke was almost completely out of his dream state by the time he decided to issue an ultimatum of his own.

He rolled over in bed one evening to find Naruto staring at him. "I know you want me to say those words before you touch me again. Well, I will refuse to suck your cock ever again, unless you put your hands on me this instant."

"Blackmailing me?"

"Yes. The way you persist in blackmailing me."

"I like it. But there are lots of things you can do for me without sucking me. I think I'll survive."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Very well. Naruto I would like for you to fuck my ass."

The grin Naruto gave nearly split his face. "Now that's more like it. Come, my little foul-mouthed prude. Let me love you."

The dream was asserted once more and the harsh edges of reality creeping up on Sasuke softened.

-oOo-

Three of Naruto's thick fingers were placed at Sasuke's lips. "Open," he commanded.

Sasuke opened his mouth and received the rough, slightly salty digits. He was told to suck them and he did, watching Naruto's eyes darken to a color resembling the ocean. When the fingers were as wet as could be, Naruto made him lie across his knees, like a child about to be beaten. His ass was probed with the wet fingers until all three were securely inside him. Naruto held him down with a firm arm across his back as he bent his fingers expertly.

"Uuuoooaaaaaahhhg!" Sasuke bit down on his forearm to keep in the rest of the cry. Naruto teased that sensitive spot in him unmercifully, fluttering his fingertips against it until Sasuke writhed and yelled and whipped his head from side to side.

The sharp crack and sting of Naruto's palm on his ass both silenced, and stilled Sasuke.

Naruto shoved Sasuke off his lap and ran for the cabin door a split second before the cocked fist could land in his face. He caught a glimpse of murderous black eyes as he was running, but then he was caught. He'd gotten the cabin door open an inch before it was slammed shut again by the expedient of Sasuke crashing into his back. Naruto's head was grabbed by a hard fist and slammed against the door to boot. He spoke quickly, cheek pressed to the wood.

"I'm sorry for that, it was an accident… it's just that your ass looked so inviting there, wriggling and-"

Sasuke leaned close to Naruto's face and whispered tightly into his ear. "If you ever lay a hand on me again in such a manner I will castrate you." His voice sent prickles of alarm down Naruto's spine. "Do you understand me?"

Naruto hated when Sasuke got violent. It was a shaming thing to admit that another man could beat you, but even when Sasuke was senseless with lust, Naruto couldn't take him. He never seemed to be able to get around Sasuke's fancy moves or his speed. It was unacceptable, considering that he outweighed Sasuke by a good forty pounds, and towered several inches over him. The hand tightened in his hair and he hastened to reply. "Yes, damnit. I said I was sorry."

He was released. Naruto turned slowly, ready to duck, but Sasuke was watching him neutrally, as if waiting. Naruto licked his lips nervously as the silence stretched out. Maybe he'd gone too far with that slap? If Sasuke said he was done with their bargain-

"You may resume your earlier activities with my ass." Sasuke turned and stretched out face down on the bed.

After a moment of relief, Naruto went to him.

And so the dream continued.

-oOo-

Once, after a particularly lengthy bout of fucking, or lovemaking as Sasuke still called it, he rolled to an elbow on the floor, where they were catching their breath. "Where did you learn to kiss as you do?"

Naruto wheezed a breathless laugh, heart still going like a runaway horse. "I don't remember."

"Do many people of your acquaintance kiss like that?"

"I guess. I don't stand around watching people kiss."

"But it _is _done in your circles, yes?"

Naruto thought about it. "Yes, I suppose so. What about you?"

"Pardon?"

"How is love expressed in your circles?"

"Ah, well… Itachi told me once that he and his wife only engaged in relations at night, in the bedroom, with the lights off. He said she remained fully clothed in her nightgown, and he only removed his pants."

Naruto blinked. "And?"

"And what?"

"Did they kiss and play before the act?"

Sasuke had to look away as he thought. "I don't think so," he frowned after a moment. "Itachi always discussed it as if it was over with very quickly. Certainly nothing like what you and I are doing."

Naruto had gotten his wind back. He rolled to pull Sasuke against him and threw a leg over both of his. "And do you like what we're doing, Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Do stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you mean to swallow me."

It was a thoroughly exciting sensation to fuck on the floor and feel the ship rock and sway beneath you. One became disoriented and dizzy which, when coupled with the desire and pleasure each man felt, induced a feeling akin to the euphoria experienced when certain herbs were chewed. They would writhe and pitch and fall and roll, and fuck and tumble and somewhere in the whole confused, dreamy, senseless melee they would be coming and yelling or coming and kissing or just coming endlessly.

-oOo-

"When may I sample your ass?" Sasuke asked at one point.

"You may sample it never," Naruto answered around a yawn. "I don't allow buggery of my person." He was on his stomach, arms folded beneath his head, preparing to nap. They'd just eaten. What day was it?

"That's hardly fair."

"Maybe so. But I'll be doing the plowing, not you."

Sasuke waited until Naruto was asleep before he brusquely parted the meaty globes of his ass and bent to investigate.

Naruto came awake slowly, muttering unintelligibly at first… then he came up on his hands, twisting to look behind him with a curse. His body tingled and sang with what Sasuke had been doing.

Sasuke sat innocently on his heels, watching Naruto with a small smirk. Naruto frowned in a threatening manner, but felt a shiver pass through him when Sasuke licked his lips with relish. Naruto lowered himself back to the mattress without a word, though he kept an eye on Sasuke.

Tacit permission given, Sasuke resumed his first taste of Naruto's hole, finding the musky aroma to be very stimulating. He employed every trick and use of his tongue that he could recall Naruto using and was rewarded with the man shuddering hard enough to have the bed creaking. Sasuke had to hold the cheeks apart before they smothered him, but he spent a long, enjoyable time provoking Naruto to madness. When at last Naruto could take no more, he grabbed Sasuke to him, sat at the edge of the bed, and rammed him down on his cock without preparation or warning.

So used was Sasuke's ass that Naruto slid in without any trouble. It still stretched him uncomfortably for the first few minutes, but this was the least of Sasuke's worries. Naruto lifted him and impaled him again, repeatedly, as if Sasuke weighed nothing. Sasuke's own cock bounced wildly at this rough treatment. His toes curled at the depth of the penetrations, especially when he landed in such a way as to hit that spot in him dead on. Then he shrieked and bucked and kicked to be free, but Naruto refused to let him go.

He came quickly, one strong jet of seed arcing out of him. Then Naruto had his cock in a brutal fist, squeezing it until it became hard again, then fisting it in time to Sasuke's frenzied riding. Each time Sasuke was ready to come, Naruto would clench his fist around him, preventing his cock from erupting. Sasuke was near tears of frustration. He managed to elbow Naruto hard in the face, which startled the blond long enough for him to release his cock. The amount that flew out of Sasuke then would have seeded an entire harem of brides, but it fell harmlessly on the filthy cabin floor. Naruto pushed him to the floor amidst his own mess and finished by stroking himself to release. Sasuke turned and found Naruto's nose bloody from his elbow… then he was shielding his face as Naruto aimed his seed on him. It landed in hot streams on Sasuke's skin… which he later admitted excited him.

Naruto joined him on the floor, leaning over him as a lion leans over prey. His bloody nose was unsightly, but Sasuke didn't apologize for it. He only held Naruto's cloudy gaze with his own until the blond leaned down and kissed him soundly, bloody lips and all.

Sasuke felt his heart contract and pound in the familiar way it did whenever Naruto kissed him and thought, _I hope I never wake from this dream._


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: The one this story is for has informed me he likes it..loves it even! I am happy^^

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 13

Gaara had had enough. A week and a half away from his master, _forced _to listen to those animalistic sounds that could be heard on any part of the ship… His patience simply ended one morning.

The other crew members eventually resumed their daily duties once it was clear the activities in the Captain's cabin were neither infrequent nor subtle enough not to be heard even in the crow's nest. He, however, could not attend to his duties, shut out as he was from his master's life. Sasuke had told him repeatedly that a servant always, no matter the circumstances, found a way to perform their duties. Which meant Gaara had to find a way.

He could accept that his master was poking with the Captain. That was his master's business. He could even accept that it was enjoyable to him in some strange, grown-up way that escaped his comprehension (though he did not accept that fish tale about poking resulting in babies. Everyone knew that spitting in your woman's wine made babies… how many times had Temari said one of the women had gotten drunk with a sailor and then nine months later had a kid?). His master intended to keep him, so that was good. He, then, needed to find a way to do what he was supposed to do. It wasn't enough to leave food outside the door twice a day; he needed to lay eyes on his master.

To that end, he employed the aid of Temari.

* * *

Naruto, recent resident of questionable parts of New York, came awake the instant the cabin window squeaked. He slit his eyes and watched through his lashes as the window was pushed open and one thin leg poked through.

-oOo-

Gaara had a rope tied around his waist to prevent him dropping into the sea, but he made it through the window on his own steam. He turned once he was inside to lean out the window and stare upward. He signaled to Temari that he was safe. The end of the rope was dropped, and Gaara pulled it in. He untied it from his waist, coiled it, and set it on the floor.

-oOo-

Naruto watched all this in disbelief. He was still feigning sleep, yet tensed in case the little beast had come to assassinate him. He wouldn't put it past him. The boy behaved like a jealous lover when it came to his precious master.

-oOo-

Gaara waited until Temari made her way to the cabin door before unlocking it. Temari came creeping in and the door was shut quietly.

"You have the stuff?" Gaara whispered.

Temari had a hand to her nose, eyes watering at the stench in the room. "Yes. Gaara we could get into a lot of trouble."

Gaara took the sack his sister handed to him as she went to the window and opened it wide. The wind that blew in was cold but smelled refreshingly of the sea. "I don't care if we get into trouble," he said. "Look at this place, my master shouldn't have to live like this. The captain is a dog."

"_Shhhhhh!_" Temari hissed frantically. She accompanied the sound with wild hand waving. "He's right there, do you want him to hear you?"

"I can handle myself," Gaara muttered.

"Let's just do what we came to do. And this is the last time I'm helping you."

Gaara cleaned industriously, throwing glares toward the bed whenever his master or the captain shifted. Temari was just as quick, scrubbing all the surfaces, while Gaara put a set of clean clothes (stolen from Neji) across the back of the chair for his master to wear later. Temari disappeared for a while to bring in the breakfast meal, then stood with Gaara as he looked toward the bed once more. He had his arms folded.

"Look at how dirty my master is," Gaara complained. "He needs a bath."

"I'm sure they'll request one when they get up. Let's go."

Gaara shook his head. "They haven't requested one in days." But he followed his sister out of the room.

Temari had put some fresh mint and sage sachets in the corners of the cabin to freshen and sweeten the air, and he'd left the window open to let the wind circulate in the musty confines of the cabin. It was a vast improvement to what it had been. Gaara vowed to make a similar visit to the captain's cabin each morning as he shut the door behind himself.

-oOo-

Naruto opened his eyes properly and turned on his back. The cold air, scented with mint, was wonderful. He hadn't realized just how rank his cabin had gotten. Looking down at himself and Sasuke he saw that Gaara was right and they _were _filthy. An idea came to him, one that made him grin wolfishly.

* * *

"Oh my god," Neji said. Those breaking their fast with him first looked up at him in question, then over to where he was staring in open-mouthed shock. Naruto was walking out of the cabin with nothing but a cutoff pair of pants on. He carried Sasuke, who was sleeping and wrapped in a filthy sheet, in his arms like one would carry a woman. Naruto walked to the railing on the starboard side of the deck, held Sasuke out over the water, then dropped him. He held on to the sheet so that Sasuke tumbled out of it naked as the day he'd been born. The crew, now standing and speechless with astonishment, caught nothing but a glimpse of white skin. The splash was faint. Naruto jumped right in behind Sasuke.

There was a second of humming silence, before Gaara screamed and ran to the railing. That broke the paralysis in everyone else as they rushed to join him, some still holding their breakfasts. Shikamaru gave the order for Chouji to trim the sails and slow the ship.

"I'll kill the captain," Gaara was yammering hysterically. "Did you see that? He dropped my master overboard while he was sleeping! What if he drowns?"

Kankurou answered while watching the water where Sasuke and the captain had disappeared. "There's no drowning Sasuke, even if he was asleep. The man takes to water more readily than a fish."

Sure enough, Sasuke's head surfaced first. He shook his hair out of his eyes, roared, then dove for the blond head coming up beneath him. The watching crew members ran for the back of the ship, keen for a better view.

-oOo-

Sasuke couldn't land a blow hard enough, not under the water. And Naruto, curse him, seemed intent on being a coward and swimming just out of reach.

The water was absolutely frigid. It had shocked him awake, shocked him out of the dream state he'd lived in, causing him to swallow a bit of seawater before he instinctively kicked for the surface. His shoulder throbbed painfully from how he'd landed in the water. Now, though, darting after Naruto, his body had adjusted to the temperature and the pain enough for him to grab Naruto around the waist and hold him under.

Naruto was stronger than Sasuke, if not quicker or more skilled as a fighter, but he could not gain enough leverage to wrest himself free of the iron grip around his waist. He kicked powerfully, trying to propel them both toward the surface, but Sasuke countered this somehow. His lungs were starting to burn. Sasuke just smiled, small bubbles escaping his lips. A ray of sunlight lanced through the water to illuminate his beautiful face. Naruto stopped struggling and leaned in to kiss Sasuke's pink lips.

-oOo-

"Well… that's romantic," Lee said uncertainly. "I don't think I've ever seen two men kiss before."

Shikamaru studied the rippled image of Sasuke and Naruto rolling lazily and kissing just beneath the surface of the water. "Neither have I. Kind of makes you feel warm, doesn't it?"

Neji nodded. "Not in a way that makes me think of men…"

"But in a way that makes you wish you had someone to love," Shino finished.

"You think the captain is in love?" Kankurou asked. His eyes were on the men in the water too.

Chouji came up to join them. "Hard to say. I know Naruto doesn't think too much of love… then again, I've never seen him behave like this."

"He seems to have progressed from caring whether or not we see him doing… that," Lee observed.

"Shh, they're surfacing," Neji said urgently. "Let's listen."

As one, they leaned out over the railing as far as they could, trying to hear the distant conversation.

-oOo-

"You're an impossible lackwit," Sasuke spluttered after his first deep breath. "What possessed you to drop me overboard? I might have been injured!"

Naruto laughed, throwing his head back. "You? I don't think there's anything you can't survive. Besides, you were dirty. We both were."

Treading water, Sasuke snorted. "What happened to requesting a bath?"

"This is more thorough. And more fun."

"I despise you."

Naruto fished the cake of soap out of his pants pocket and tossed it to Sasuke. "Don't drop it."

Sasuke scowled a moment longer, before lathering his hair peevishly. He would have vengeance for this.

* * *

The crew didn't bother pretending to be occupied with tasks when, some twenty minutes later, Naruto climbed up the rope ladder and over the railing. He still had his pants on, looked nearly blue with cold, but happy. He smiled at them, faced them, as he stood dripping onto the deck.

"So," he began. "I guess the reason for my absence these past couple of days is now out of the bag?"

"What gave you that idea?" Neji drawled.

Naruto gestured to where Sasuke's head was peeking over the railing. "I'm sure you saw us in the water just now."

Gaara ran to the railing with the spare bed sheet Temari had just laundered. Sasuke climbed up behind the cover of this sheet and wrapped it around his waist.

Lee said, "And your water sports just now, that is the only reason we would know what you were up to?"

"Well," Naruto hedged, perplexed at the steady looks his crew was giving him. "A few of you may have seen me on deck some days ago, but Gaara has been telling you that I was indisposed, hasn't he? Me and Sasuke?"

Blank, disbelieving stares.

"Is he joking?" Shikamaru muttered. Neji shook his head, never taking his eyes off of Naruto.

"So, as I was saying," Naruto resumed when his crew continued to gawk. "Now that it's known, I'd appreciate you keeping it to yourselves. My activities with Sasuke are my business."

"Why are you telling us, then?" Lee wanted to know.

"I'd like to know that myself," Neji quipped with relish. "You could have left us to wonder."

Naruto shifted his feet, scowling at them. "Get back to work. I'll be on deck in an hour to check the condition of my ship. Well?" he snapped when no one moved. The crew slowly dispersed.

-oOo-

The nerve of his crew to give him grief! Naruto imagined ways to make their lives unpleasant as he stormed into his cabin. He was brought up short by the sight of Gaara serving Sasuke breakfast. "Out," he barked.

Gaara looked to Sasuke, received a small shake of his head, and proceeded to behave as if Naruto hadn't spoken. Sasuke slipped a spoonful of porridge into his mouth, swallowed, then turned to Naruto with a glint in his eyes.

"I believe you agreed to let me have Gaara during daylight hours?"

"I believe you can kiss my ass," Naruto snarled through his teeth. "Get him out of here or I will. Now."

Gaara felt a flutter in his belly at the threat. He discreetly made sure his knife was still up his sleeve.

Sasuke bit into his buttered muffin, humming in pleasure at the taste of currants Temari had used to flavor it. "He stays."

Naruto slammed his door shut forcefully, making Sasuke and Gaara's ears ring. He took slow, purposeful steps to the desk, placed his hands on it, and leaned down into Sasuke's face. "I _will _have obedience on my ship."

"And so you do," Sasuke replied. "Gaara stays during the day."

Naruto watched the way Sasuke's mouth moved as he chewed, watched until he realized he was staring and cleared his throat. "You'll pay for this."

"No doubt as I pay for everything, down to breathing the rarefied air of your precious ship," Sasuke murmured. "I must say, your threats have lost their thrill now that I have first-hand knowledge of how you exact payment. I will even go so far as to say I enjoy paying my debts… in fact, since I _do _enjoy the way you collect payment, I will endeavor to transgress your particular boundaries as often as I can manage it." Sasuke sat back now with the cup of tea he'd just poured, smiling up at Naruto's dumbfounded expression. "Now _that _is thrilling, wouldn't you say? Gaara, be a dear and fetch me another cushion. I find sitting to be quite uncomfortable today."

* * *

The crew took care to keep out of Naruto's way that day. One would think that after such a long period of sex that the captain would be in a good mood. Instead, he was storming around the deck, criticizing everyone and their work, and finding fault with the logs Shikamaru and Chouji had kept. He yelled and bellowed, threatened and insulted. He was completely unlike his usual personality and no one quite dared to say anything about his behavior.

No one except Neji.

"Captain, why don't you just leave the ship to us like you've been doing and go continue to bugger Sasuke? We all know the two or three hours you've been without his charms has you angrier than a bear with a bee up his-"

That as was far as Neji got. He was given a stunning blow to his offensive mouth, then picked up bodily and thrown over the side of the ship. Shino and Kankurou waited until Naruto had stormed past before rushing to throw a lifeline down to Neji. After that, the crew made themselves scarce. Naruto settled down at the wheel to await sunset.

* * *

Gaara had a wonderful day with his master. Sasuke listened attentively to all that had gone on with Gaara during his seclusion with Naruto. He played a game of marbles with him, impressing the boy with his knowledge of the game, and he told Gaara a fantastic story of ancient Greek gods and Egyptian kings and queens.

Sasuke looked up from Gaara's shining face later and saw that it was nearly sunset. He turned back to the boy with a mischievous look, one that Gaara responded to immediately. "What do you say we play a little game of hide and seek?"

"You'll try and find me, sir?" Gaara jumped up, ready to play.

"Well," Sasuke said as he also stood, "I was thinking we could hide from the captain… just to anger him, of course."

Gaara grinned so hard that Sasuke feared the boy would damage his face. The grin was gone the next moment, replaced with a painstakingly maintained look of seriousness. "I know just the place, sir. Should I hide with you?"

"I was thinking just me, actually. You may have the honor of informing Naruto that if he wishes to be paid this night, he will have to find me."

Gaara bowed respectfully, love for his master making him feel full and tingly. "Understood, sir."

-oOo-

Naruto waited with every muscle tense as the last ray of sunlight disappeared into the ocean. He shot up and away from the wheel, throwing an order over his shoulder for Chouji to take command. He flew down the length of his ship, down to his cabin, and threw open the door. Gaara stood sentinel, alone, in the middle of the room.

"I'm to inform you," Gaara said before Naruto could speak. "That if you require my master you are to look for him."

Naruto felt like killing someone. Much as he disliked the boy's presence, he did not dislike the boy himself, though. He forced himself to use a tone that was more or less calm. "If you know where he is tell me."

"I can't do that, Captain. Against orders. Good night." Gaara walked out, right beneath Naruto's arm.

_This has to be a day conceived in hell_, Naruto thought as he turned to begin searching.

* * *

Hours, literally _hours _later, Naruto sat dejectedly on a water barrel on the main deck and dropped his head in his hands. Sasuke was nowhere to be found. He'd looked in every mouse hole and under every plank of wood. His crew had been unhelpful, stating with wide, innocent eyes that they had no idea where Sasuke could be and no, they hadn't seen him. Neji only glowered, saying his fat lip prevented him from seeing anything.

Resigned finally to a whole night without Sasuke, Naruto got up and made his slow way to his cabin.

-oOo-

Sasuke lay reclining on the bed, eating a crisp red apple. He greeted Naruto by biting into it. The crunching sound seemed loud in the room, punctuating the hours they'd been apart. A bit of apple juice ran down Sasuke's chin. He wiped at it with a finger, then sucked his finger clean.

Naruto turned and closed the door. He was slow and methodical about it, as if the execution of this simple act was the most important thing in the world. He just as carefully locked the door, turned from it, and leaned his back against the wood. He folded his arms across his chest, wondering if the violent tremors in his body were visible to Sasuke.

Sasuke found the silence to be quite titillating, fraught with tension as it was. He smiled openly at Naruto's blank face, perfectly aware that there was a multitude of emotions going on behind that bland mask. He polished off his apple, content to wait until Naruto made the first move.

"You like tormenting me, don't you," Naruto said after many minutes. His voice was low. "I can see that you enjoyed yourself today, while I…" He closed his mouth, momentarily unable to go on.

"I did enjoy myself, yes," Sasuke agreed. "And tormenting you is an exciting pastime, I admit."

The smile left Sasuke as Naruto leapt suddenly and powerfully. He snatched Sasuke up from the bed and crushed him in a bone-breaking embrace, putting his lips against Sasuke's ear. "Do you have any idea how I _suffered _today?"

Sasuke gave up trying to move or breathe properly. "I found the separation gave me much needed perspective. I was drowning in this room, Naruto, drowning in you."

"Good," Naruto growled. "I _want_ you to drown, I _want_ you unable to think of anything but my hands and mouth on you, and my body deeply in yours. Those hours without you were like dying, Sasuke. _Dying_. I can't bare it."

Sasuke had forgotten just how heated Naruto's body was. He was actually perspiring now, wrapped from neck to legs in the man's hard muscles as he was. This, after the numbing dip in the sea and spending most of the day in one state of frozen misery or another. He relaxed completely, letting the warmth seep into his skin, into his bones. A low sound came from his throat, and suddenly he wanted Naruto to ravage him again. "Well," he said after he'd moistened his suddenly dry lips. "I'm here now…"

"Where were you? I wasted hours looking for you."

"The best hiding place is often the most obvious. I was here in this room the whole time. Had you made a cursory investigation of the furniture, you would have known that."

Naruto tangled his fingers around a handful of Sasuke's dark hair and pulled sharply. He lowered his open mouth to the exposed neck and dragged his lips back and forth, rubbed his nose in the white skin. "From now until we reach Japan we are not leaving this cabin. Or… if we do, it will not be for such a hellishly long time. Is that clear?"

"Gaara," Sasuke panted. The way Naruto growled his words against Sasuke's neck had him nearly faint with desire. He was arched into the brawny captain, head thrown back shamelessly in order to give him access to his neck and any other part of his body Naruto may want.

"The boy can watch me fuck you for all of me. Nothing is keeping me from you again. Nothing."

"Naruto…"

Naruto lifted Sasuke against him by an arm around his waist and pressed him to the door. Sasuke brought a hand up and Naruto caught it, lacing his fingers with Sasuke's. He pressed their joined hands to the door as well, high above their heads. "Tell me you didn't miss this today." He dropped his mouth to Sasuke's throat again and sucked strongly, nearly drawing blood.

Sasuke's entire body suddenly went through an alarming change all at once. A bolt of pleasure shot up his spine, through his brain, then down to his genitals. His cock exploded to full tumescence to be left quivering and painful, and his skin was abruptly warm enough to cause Naruto to hiss. He felt wild and free and powerful as he lifted a leg along Naruto's hip. "I did miss it," he sighed.

"Tell me you'll never run from me again." Naruto rocked his hips forward, undulating against Sasuke's body.

Sasuke gasped. "I'll never run."

"Tell me you want my touch," Naruto said as he slipped a hand down the back of Sasuke's trousers.

"I want your touch. I crave it. Touch me, Naruto. Touch me now."

-oOo-

It happened on the desk, beside the lantern Sasuke had lit. Sasuke was dropped flat on his back, his long legs held straight up and spread wide open. Naruto only spent a moment moistening Sasuke's entrance with his mouth, not nearly enough time in Sasuke's opinion. His moan of protest was cut short when Naruto impaled him on a cock that felt like hot steel, it was so unyielding. "Uuhng… Naruto, go slowly… you will split me in twain if-"

Naruto gave a hard, jerky thrust, silencing Sasuke with the force of it. Sasuke's mouth remained open, but no sound came out other than harsh breathing.

Sasuke had to curl his fingers over the edge of the desk by his ass or he might have been pounded right over the far side of the thing. He saw stars, Naruto harried his body so mercilessly with his own. Naruto continued to hold his ankles up and spread, intensifying his sense of helplessness and lack of control over this episode. It was a position which allowed Naruto to look down at Sasuke's naked body, everything exposed to his gaze. Sasuke thought to cover himself, having recently been privy to the luxury of clothing. But he liked feeling helpless, and he liked having no control, and he liked feeling exposed and ashamed. This once, he even liked the way Naruto nearly ripped him with the zeal of his lovemaking. He'd never felt such need from another, had never felt so connected with anyone. He wrapped his fist around his cock, pumping it in fierce strokes, and Naruto watched this too. It excited Sasuke to be watched while doing something so intimate. He kept his eyes on Naruto's stern face until it was over, feeling his heart pound the way it did whenever Naruto kissed him. Come to think of it…

Naruto backed out of Sasuke and was startled when the man flew up and threw an arm around his neck. Naruto began to ask what the hell Sasuke thought he was doing, but then he was being kissed hungrily. Sasuke's other arm came up to join the first in holding Naruto close. They sank back to the desk, fused at the mouth.

* * *

Later, when they were recovering from a second session in bed, wrapped in each other's arms, Naruto said, "You really mean to have Gaara in here while we're together?"

"I think a few hours separation each day is wise." He rubbed his cheek on Naruto's bicep. "But if the thought is so abhorrent to you, well then he can come and see to me for a short time during the day. We can be with each other without necessarily making love, can't we?"

Naruto spent just over an hour showing Sasuke that he couldn't. He rolled off of him to resume the conversation, somewhat out of breath.

"I think that it's time we discussed payment for him. You did commandeer him from me, did you not?"

Sasuke's breathing was still a bit ragged. "I agreed to whatever payment you had in mind for him. It will be more of this, won't it?" He bent and nipped one of Naruto's rosy nipples, making the blond snap his teeth together over a yelp.

The key to the cabinet was currently dangling from Naruto's earring. He reached up and unfastened it now to hand Sasuke the key, before putting it back in his ear. "There is a wooden box on the bottom-most shelf. Open it and take out what you find."

Sasuke slid off the bed, scowling when Naruto tapped his rump with a hand. He found the box in short order and brought it to the desk. Naruto sat up in bed to watch him.

It was shut with a simple hook through a corresponding loop of metal, not locked. Sasuke opened the box and stared inside, confused. "I don't understand." He reached in and lifted one of the objects up between thumb and forefinger. "What is… this…" Having lifted it, Sasuke could see very well what it was.

Naruto smiled widely at the lacy garter Sasuke held at arm's length. "I got the idea when you came to me and told me Gaara no longer worked for me, an occurrence that happened because you gave Temari your disguise. It seemed like the perfect way to exact payment. What do you think?" he finished jovially. He settled back with his arms behind his head.

Sasuke pulled out the nearly sheer chemise and held that up as if holding some vile piece of filth. He turned incredulous eyes to where Naruto's bold nudity reflected the warm glow of the lantern. "I think you are mad," he said in a low, shaking voice.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that you agreed to perform the service for keeping Gaara to the very best of your not inconsiderable capabilities. You gave your word."

Sasuke held up a black net stocking, shuddered, and dropped it back into the box. He threw the rest of the garments in and shut the lid with a snap. "I refuse."

"Really? You're going to break poor little Gaara's heart, while going back on your word? Need I also remind you of just how many times you've sworn, in this very room, to do whatever I ask of you?" Naruto suddenly laughed. "Those are the only clothes you'll be wearing from now on. Still feel like a few hours outside the cabin every day is necessary?" Then he collapsed in a fit of hysteria at the sickened expression on Sasuke's face.

"You-"

"Transgress _those _boundaries all you like, Sasuke!" Naruto was nearly screaming in mirth, rolling back and forth on the bed with it. He wheezed and kicked his legs.

Sasuke sat unsteadily in the chair at the desk and stared mutely at the box of horrors.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Hm, usually chaps for this fic average around 4k words. This one is a bit shorter.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 14

Sasuke listened to Naruto laugh uproariously as he continued to stare at the box. His mind was blank, having left the horror and outrage behind now to adopt a cold calculation he didn't often experience… and had experienced most often in Naruto's presence. After several moments, he drew the box to him, opened it, and proceeded to give a more thorough examination to the garments.

Naruto saw this and let his laughter wind down. The occasional chuckle escaped him still, but he watched Sasuke with interest, waiting to see what he would do.

Sasuke knew the names for most of the garments. He saw now that the garter, stocking and chemise lay with a few other items on top of a bulky mass of ruffles and lace. He picked up the smaller items one by one.

There were the two lace garters, red, and two long satin gloves, also red. There was one of those new 'healthy' corsets, one devoid of steel or whalebone, and thus softer and less constricting. It was black and also lacey. There was a pure white camisole of soft linen, adorned with the now hated lace and ruffles, with a matching pair of pantalettes. There were the two black net stockings. A shift of such thin material as to be transparent and colored a midnight blue was the final item before the mass of ruffles and lace that filled the box. Sasuke took this large thing out and held it up.

It was a black petticoat. The ruffles and lace formed tiered layers and flounces. An utterly feminine object, heavy, and still smelling slightly of camphor. Looking into the box, Sasuke found that there were a few items at the very bottom. He took out a fan made of red silk and black lace and a red silk choker with a heart made of black colored glass dangling from it. He held the choker up, looked at it, opened the fan, closed it.

He put everything neatly back in the box, sat, and proceeded to study his nails.

Naruto was intrigued. Really, Sasuke was a source of never-ending fascination. His reactions were unpredictable. What was he thinking now? He'd refused to dress in the clothing, but had then looked at everything closely. Now he sat behaving as if Naruto wasn't in the room instead of glaring at him or making his displeasure known. Had he accepted the new terms of their arrangement so quickly then?

"Sasuke, what are you thinking?"

Sasuke spoke without raising his head, still examining his nails. His voice was thoughtful, not angry. "I'm thinking how like my father you are."

The small smile that had been lingering around Naruto's mouth fell away entirely. He sat up straighter in the bed, bristling. "How can you say I'm like that bastard? I don't go around murdering people or my own family."

Sasuke lifted his head now and did look at him. "I've told you a lot about my father, but that is the only difference you can see between yourself and him. Which means you agree that you're a manipulative, controlling, insecure, selfish whore's son who is only content when asserting his will over others." He held Naruto's slightly frowning gaze, intent on receiving an answer.

Naruto sat up completely and swung his legs over the side of the bed to rest his feet on the floor. "Yes. I admit I'm a bastard and some of those things you said sometimes. But no, I'm not only content when asserting my will."

"Have I not complied to your demands thus far?"

"Yes."

"Have I not shown you that this stopped being about debts some time ago?"

"It… it has?"

"Is this just about collecting for you, then?"

Naruto dropped his eyes a moment then met Sasuke's questioning expression again. "It's enjoyable. I need your body, but it's not more than that."

Sasuke digested this a moment. "Why do you feel the need to belittle me this way? Why would you derive such pleasure from my humiliation if we both agree that we enjoy being together? Do you think I'll refuse your touch after the things we've done? You don't need to manipulate me into remaining in this room, Naruto. I want to do the things we do."

Tilting his head in puzzlement, Naruto asked, "Is that what you think? That I want you to wear the garments to humiliate you and manipulate you into staying in here?"

"Why else?"

Naruto colored in embarrassment. He looked aside, fiddling with the sheet he had gripped it in one hand. "I… enjoy it," he muttered.

Sasuke stared at him, not quite understanding. Naruto's sudden bashfulness was noted. "Enjoy it? Enjoy what?"

"The clothing on you. It excites me." Naruto's face was so red that it would have been cause for concern, if Sasuke hadn't currently been overwhelmed with skepticism.

"The sight of me in women's clothes excites you? How?"

Naruto glanced at the narrowed eyes. "Well, now. That should be obvious, shouldn't it?"

Sasuke dropped his eyes to the quivering erection standing from Naruto's blond bush. He stood up and walked to Naruto slowly, uncaring of his own nudity. "I don't understand. If women's clothes have this effect on you, why are you not simply attracted to women?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know that it's something I can explain, to be honest, Sasuke." He got up and walked over to the chest, opened it.

"Do try," Sasuke said as Naruto passed him. "It would help make this latest request, if that's what it is, more palatable."

Naruto thoughtfully drew out one of the red satin gloves. He held it to his face, rubbing the material over his lips. He looked at Sasuke as he did this. Recognizing the hazy look of lust and impending sex on Naruto's features, Sasuke swallowed.

"I suppose," Naruto murmured slowly. "It's how they make you appear. Not as a woman," he said quickly when Sasuke began to speak. "Women's clothing on you does not make you look female in the slightest. I don't know… somehow you are unsexed. Diminished. Yet still a man. The clothes somehow de-masculinize you while emphasizing your manliness… and I find it arouses me beyond words."

Sasuke could very well see that for himself. He studied the way Naruto rubbed the glove down his neck. He let the garment slide down his chest to one nipple, where he ran the red satin back and forth in a small circle. His lips parted and a thin string of moisture dripped from his cock to stretch to the floor between his feet. Sasuke's seed pouch tightened in response.

"And does wearing the garments yourself have the same effect?" Sasuke asked when he'd cleared his throat. "What brought on this particular fancy?"

Naruto continued to rub, his eyes slowly closing as his other hand came up to tease his other nipple. "Men in women's clothes never occurred to me before our flight from Uchiha Manor. When I saw you… well, I nearly had you there in the stables. Then when you came to me about Gaara, I thought it a perfect time to explore the notion further. I picked these things up in one of the ports. I wanted boots to go with the petticoat, but could find none your size. As for wearing them myself, I did try on the petticoat while you slept one night. It did nothing for me. Ahhh…"

Naruto took the glove in both hands. He held it as one held a rag, by either end, and proceeded to make a polishing motion on his cock, whipping the glove from side to side on his swollen appendage. He came almost immediately and as he did, he rubbed his nipples with the glove again. He shuddered with his head back, throat working.

Sasuke felt his cock rising and moved toward Naruto, who lowered his head and met his eyes.

A rapid pounding on the cabin door broke the spell being woven between them. "Naruto? We need you on deck a moment."

It was Shikamaru. Naruto blinked, swore. He threw the glove into the chest. Sasuke noticed the pitching of the ship was more pronounced, and had been for some time. Naruto pulled on trousers and left the cabin with his feet and top half bare. Sasuke didn't know how the man bore the cold… the cabin was warmed with a brazier.

* * *

Finding the clothes that had been so hastily discarded earlier, Sasuke drew on his own trousers and pushed his arms through the shirt he'd worn during the day. He sat in the desk chair, leaned back, cupped his chin in a hand, and thought.

The first four fingers of the glove Naruto had thrown into the chest dangled over the side. They reflected the lantern light dully, gleaming in a manner Sasuke could only think of as perverse and deviant.

Whenever he made the mistake of assuming that he and Naruto could sink no lower, the man managed, somehow, to prove him wrong. He could recall when he'd been an upright, proper, _respectable_ citizen. To even hear mention of the _tamest_ things he'd allowed in this room would have shamed him beyond the expression of it. He would not have believed it possible, that anyone, anywhere, was capable of such debauchery as Naruto displayed. Sasuke had slipped with the first kiss, he knew. He'd been tripped by it into falling into agreement to the devil's bargain he'd struck with Naruto, and from there he had been led by the hand, by the same devil, to depths of dissolution and depravity he hadn't known existed.

But once down there he'd been shown a veritable world of carnal pleasure. A feast that was his for the taking and so he had. He had feasted and gorged himself until his sexual palate had matured and adjusted to match Naruto's. He was able to appreciate and even desire the pleasures the man showed him. He balked at nothing now, hesitated at nothing.

Remembering the tales of Greek gods he'd told Gaara only that morning, Sasuke reasoned that he was Persephone and Naruto was Hades. He'd been taken to the underworld, had sampled the fruit therein, but having eaten it, he could not now return to the land of the living. Not permanently. Nor could he return to the life he'd led before meeting Naruto. He would be a hypocrite if he attempted to adopt his stance of moral superiority now, and he could not regain the sexual innocence he'd had. More to the point, having eaten the fruit of Naruto's touch, he could not now live without it.

What had he told him before? Ah yes. He'd told Naruto to save him. Well, he had truly been delivered from the fetters of his old life, hadn't he? And Itachi was gone. His father wanted him dead, and his mother had never held a particularly high place in his life or emotions. He was free. Free to live in sin with the devil and sail to Hades if he so wished. He had been saved.

Sasuke consciously closed the door on all he had been as he touched one of the satin fingers on the glove. He took up the garment and held it in his hand. Then he went to the door and called for Gaara.

* * *

It was dark on the ocean, but the distant sound of thunder could be heard. Naruto stood on the forecastle, head cocked and listening, as lightning followed the thunder. Up here, he could feel the freshening wind and the increased wave activity. He squinted his eyes, smelling the wind, feeling the velocity of it, and judging. He turned to Shikamaru and Chouji, who were standing at his back. "Looks like we're in for a squall. Lower the sails, you know what to do."

Chouji nodded and turned away. Shikamaru hesitated. "And you, Captain?"

Naruto heard the rest of the unasked question. "I'm remaining on deck. I have the wheel. Tell Shino to keep a sharp lookout."

Shikamaru hid his smile of relief. It was damned good to see Naruto alert and in command for once, especially with a windstorm on its way.

-oOo-

Naruto estimated they'd be in the thick of it within the next hour, possibly half that. He went to the logs and read them, noting that they were making good time. They would make landfall within the next two weeks. The thought put a rock of bad feeling and anxiety in his chest. He went back out to the wheel, keeping watch as he steered.

Sasuke. Just his name, said in the privacy of his mind, did things to him. The man was full of interesting and intriguing pockets of delight. Everything he knew of Sasuke fascinated him, captivated him, made him want more. The way he was so refined and poised, yet so skilled at defending himself; how generous he was with his affections; how he insisted on maintaining his routine of having a manservant, yet snuggled against Naruto without reservation at night; how completely he satisfied Naruto in every way-

_Stop it, _Naruto roared to himself. _Just stop it. It's as you told him before. An enjoyable interlude, nothing more._

Then why did he feel sick at the thought of reaching Japan? He would have to conduct business, see to Kakashi's interests and spend the majority of his time out of the cabin, that's why.

Naruto tightened his hands on the wheel. His was a stubborn, unrelenting nature and it asserted itself now. His mind said one thing and Naruto's actions traditionally followed the dictates of his mind. He had never, in his recollection, done anything not based on logic and sound thinking. His heart had never done anything but ache when his mother had died, and otherwise beat steadfastly in his chest. It had never twinged and stuttered when black eyes looked at him, or bled at the mere thought of kisses from the owner of those eyes. That it swelled to bursting when the kisses were followed by long, molten embraces, whispers of his name…

No. He would not tolerate such mutiny in his normally orderly thought processes. Sasuke had a life he would be getting back to once this voyage was over. He'd don his top hat and tails and shake his time with Naruto off his heels like so much dust. Why, Naruto himself would likely be forgotten inside of a month. Once back where he belonged, Sasuke would become just as stiff and arrogant as he'd been when Naruto met him.

But wait. Hadn't Sasuke said that this had stopped being about debts? Naruto squinted against a sudden gust of wind.

What Sasuke had said mattered not one whit. Especially not when it put nonsense notions in Naruto's head about keeping them at sea. He would take pleasure in what Sasuke had to offer, complete his business for Kakashi, and then sign on for another job. He would live his life as he was meant to live it, on the water, free of poverty, hunger, and the small-mindedness of society.

Better all around if he didn't have an increasingly mesmerizing aristocrat with him when he did. Better if he kept his head and didn't muddle it with impossible possibilities.

-oOo-

The squall was fierce but mercifully brief. The _Whirlwind _was tossed and doused with freezing showers of rain. Wind blew cuttingly across the deck, stinging exposed flesh. Naruto hunkered down at the wheel until it all blew over a couple of hours later. He did a lot of thinking as he guided his ship automatically through the rougher swells.

He came to the conclusion that he was getting too attached to Sasuke. He would never be able to live with him; their time together would end and then where would Naruto be? So far he'd managed to live his life free of entanglements… not that his previous lifestyle or his gender preferences had been conducive to entanglements. He wasn't about to muck everything up when he finally had a ship and a steady, well-paying job.

By the time the squall blew over, it was well after sunup. Gaara was likely with Sasuke, and Naruto felt reticent of a sudden.

* * *

It was a long day. He felt the absence of Sasuke as a physical pain, much as he had the previous day. He thought of the places he could be putting his mouth instead of to a whiskey bottle, the things his hands could be doing besides gripping the wheel hard enough to bruise his palms, and wanted nothing more than to kick his cabin door down and fuck Sasuke through the nearest hard surface.

But Naruto was nothing if not controlled. And the more a situation stressed him or tried to escape his control, the harder he dug in his heels. He entered his cabin hours after sunset that night intent on releasing Sasuke from their arrangement.

His intentions were promptly forgotten at seeing Sasuke wearing the petticoat and corset.

Sasuke was wearing everything, or nearly everything, Naruto realized. The choker circled his neck, with the black heart dangling against the hollow of his throat. The red gloves came up his arms to stop midway up the muscle of his bicep. The gloves contrasted beautifully with the black lace corset and black petticoat. The red was repeated in the choker and the fan that Sasuke held in one hand, idly fanning the air by his cheek. He stood in the center of the room, apparently waiting for Naruto.

"Dear Jesus," Naruto rasped hoarsely.

"Well," Sasuke said frankly. "I thought I'd give them a try. Do I look alluring?"

"Sasuke," Naruto tried to smile. "You look… like…"

Sasuke dropped his eyes to the flagrant erection outlined boldly in the crotch of Naruto's trousers. "I'll consider that a yes." He walked past Naruto to shut the door and lock it. He paused. "This petticoat is the devil to walk in. I don't know how women manage."

Naruto's mouth was dry, his skin suddenly tight. "I believe they hold it up as they walk."

Sasuke hiked up one side of the petticoat gracelessly. "Yes, I recall doing that with the skirt I wore as a disguise. This corset makes one itch abominably. It's the lace. Whoever invented the stuff needs to be shot." He waved the fan a little too energetically to be coquettish, giving Naruto a strained smile. "The gloves are acceptable, though. Not too much different from my own pair at home. They keep my arms warm.

_He's trying, _Naruto realized. _For me. God help me, I am lost. Lost._

"Sasuke… you don't have to do this."

Sasuke snorted indelicately. He turned and the petticoat did a _swish_ that had Naruto suddenly leaking heavily in his pants. "I know you like to believe you control my actions with your manipulations and ultimatums… but I could stomach the crew seeing me like this if I had to. It's only clothing. And when I announce your deviant attraction to them, I expect they would quickly forget about me, a man they scarcely know, to focus on you, their long-time friend."

"You might regret this… when you go back to your old life," Naruto said meaningfully. It was as close as he could come to asking when Sasuke would leave. He had to know.

"Regret what? Donning a few frilly rags? Do you really believe this-" he waved the fan- "holds a candle to how I've let you touch me? To how I've touched you? You are gravely mistaken. Besides. My old life is gone." Sasuke lowered the fan. He looked at it, turning it over in his hands as his voice became subdued. "The only one I cared about was Itachi. I would do… I would have done anything for him." He lifted his head to look at Naruto. "But he's _gone_. There's no going back for me."

"Are you sure, Sasuke?"

Aware that silent declarations were being made, Sasuke straightened his spine. "I am."

"There is nothing that would change your mind?" Naruto took a step towards Sasuke. Then another.

"Nothing."

"And this… life… you would be able to tolerate it? We would not put in to port often. The creature comforts you're accustomed to would largely be absent."

"I daresay that I would be agreeable to those terms."

Naruto reached Sasuke. His hand hovered over one bare shoulder, trembling with the raging need to touch him, to claim him as his, once and for all. His voice came out in a hiss, and his heart, curse the organ, beat frantically in fright. "If that's so, then I consider your debt to me paid. In full."

Sasuke said nothing for a moment. His eyes searched Naruto's just as intently as the blue ones searched his own. "I see. Am I to stand here unattended all night, then?"

At hearing his acceptance, Naruto caught Sasuke to him with a cry, lifting him in a wild flurry of ruffled petticoat and grasping, red-gloved hands.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I'm sorry for posting this late. This was a big week for me in a lot of ways: Personally, domestically, and writing-wise. I think I'm undergoing some sort of crisis in my writing but I can't be sure, and don't know what to do about it, so I'll just shut up. But I do want to thank each and every person who supports me and lifts me through reviews, who helps me grow by pointing out my weaknesses and flaws, and who makes me laugh by sharing themselves in a human and tangible way that transcends the impersonal world of the computer. Thank you all, so much, and again, please forgive the lateness...

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 15

Snuffling noises came from them as they kissed madly. Naruto had is hands full, holding Sasuke bridal style as he was, but Sasuke's hands roamed freely over Naruto's head and face. The kisses gained urgency as feelings bloomed in Naruto, feelings he'd held back ruthlessly until now. It was like being with Sasuke for the first time all over again. Sasuke responded eagerly to this urgency in Naruto.

Naruto went to the bed and sat on it. He had his hands spread against Sasuke's back as he kissed his way down the man's throat. He stopped at reaching the choker to rest his head on Sasuke's chest. A wave of insecurity doused his ardor unexpectedly.

Sasuke let Naruto squeeze him in a crushing bear hug, looking down at the blond head on his chest. He patted one bare shoulder comfortingly; he could tell from the moment Naruto had declared his debt paid in full that tonight would go differently. "You can tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong." Naruto's voice was muffled and warm against his chest.

Nothing he could speak of out loud, anyway. He couldn't tell Sasuke that opening his heart left him terrified. Or that he'd never trusted another soul in his life with his heart and now that he was close to trusting Sasuke that way it left him feeling wide-open and defenseless. That was the very word: defenseless. His impenetrable walls had been breached, his self-sufficient emotions snagged and knotted with another's. It was no longer just Uzumaki Naruto whose interests concerned him, but now Sasuke's. The man had walked into the stronghold of his being and taken a piece of Naruto for his own. If the man ever decided to leave or if he ever lost Sasuke, he would take that piece with him, and Naruto was horribly afraid of how that would feel.

Damnit. Damn, damn, _damn_.

But Sasuke was here now, in his arms. He would take it one day at a time, Naruto decided. He wouldn't expect more from Sasuke, no matter if he'd said his old life was gone. Sasuke might change his mind at any time. Better to hold on to his wayward emotions as best he could. He would _not_ give in, not without a stupendous fight.

Yet as he lifted his head and continued kissing Sasuke it was hard to hold on to that thought. And later, with Sasuke sitting on the desk, resting back on his hands, Naruto glanced up at him and was struck anew at the lengths the man went to please him, making his fight all but impossible to win.

Sasuke had his feet braced on the arms of the chair. Naruto, sitting in this chair, was able to see how the pale, muscular legs were covered in the black net stockings until mid-thigh. He saw how the red garters circled each thigh, holding the stockings up. The petticoat was bunched around Sasuke's hips. Naruto's eyes traveled up the corset until they reached Sasuke's face. Sasuke's hair had grown. It was now long enough to brush his eyes in front and hang past his nape in back. Such a vision Sasuke looked, wearing red and black, and spread for Naruto. His eyes lowered to the cock surrounded by black ruffles and still wet with his attentions. He bent once more to it.

-oOo-

Something _was _different, Sasuke decided as the night wore on. Naruto was less playful, more focused, more intense. The kisses he gave fairly scorched and burned him alive. Outside of the time on the desk, he did not let Sasuke out of his embrace once, keeping him firmly locked in his powerful arms. Naruto suckled his neck and shoulders as if he'd perish without this sustenance, and he constantly, without pause, murmured Sasuke's name in violent whispers, as if afraid Sasuke would vanish like smoke.

It alarmed Sasuke, and excited him. Such need. Such all-consuming need. He kissed and stroked, hugged and reassured Naruto as ardently as he was able to, with all that he felt behind every touch, and still the man seemed not to get enough.

An hour was spent with Naruto deeply inside him, not moving, not thrusting, not doing anything but kissing Sasuke hungrily and holding him tightly. The petticoat had been discarded, leaving the corset, stockings and gloves. They lay on the bed, sweaty now, but not yet making love. The way Naruto's heart slammed in his chest, against Sasuke's own heart, was cause for concern. Why was his heart beating so hard if all they were doing was kissing?

Naruto lifted his head at last and stared into Sasuke's eyes.

"Naruto? Are you sure nothing's amiss? Is the ship sinking?"

Naruto's eyes crinkled as a laugh gusted out of him. It made his cock jump where it was lodged in Sasuke. "What on earth gave you that idea?"

"You seem so different tonight… I thought some disaster had befallen us."

Naruto was thoughtful. He traced the choker with a fingertip. "My ship is fine. I'd hardly be here with you if we were about to go under."

Sasuke waited.

"I don't… change… easily," Naruto said after some time. "Or trust people. But when I do trust someone it's because I'm positive they won't turn on me. Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino and the rest… they've all had years to prove my trust in them is well-founded. It's… hard. To give of myself. Do you understand?"

Sasuke did. "You're safe with me."

Naruto snorted, trying to make light of the momentous words. "Of course I'm safe with you, I-"

"You're _safe _with me," Sasuke insisted.

Naruto rolled his eyes, looked aside. He started to pull away.

Sasuke caught his face and turned it so he was looking into the blue eyes once more. "Your heart is safe with me, Naruto. You can trust me."

Naruto tried to smile and couldn't. Tried to joke and couldn't. He was shaking, couldn't stop the shakes, and eventually hung his head to hide the moisture gathering in his eyes. Sasuke lifted a hand to stroke his cheek.

"Don't… don't." Naruto said harshly. He pulled out of him quickly and went to stand on the far side of the room. After a moment, he located his shirt and began jerking it on.

He was pushing his feet into his pants legs by the time Sasuke got up and went to him. "Stop," Sasuke said as he tried to grab Naruto's shoulder. It was pulled sharply away. Naruto avoided his gaze. "What?" Sasuke asked in bewilderment. "What is it, what did I say?"

Naruto buttoned his fly and moved to storm out of the cabin. Sasuke quite suddenly lost his patience. He spun Naruto around by his arm and threw a hard punch towards the angry face.

Perhaps harder than he'd meant to. Naruto went sprawling on his can, staring up at Sasuke in utter disbelief.

"I won't apologize for that, not until you tell me what the bleeding hell is wrong," Sasuke said evenly. "You've been off-balance since you walked in here tonight. I demand an explanation."

Naruto continued to glare silently.

Sasuke threw up his hands. "A more stubborn man I've never met. _You_ don't change easily? What about me? Do you recall me telling you that we go with what's familiar, even if it kills us? Do you remember what you said to me? It wasn't easy for me to change either, but I trusted you. Why can't you trust me in turn? Have I given you cause, ever, to believe I'm untrustworthy? Answer me!" When Naruto continued to lay where he'd fallen, Sasuke turned away in disgust. "To hell with you then." He went to the wooden box of undergarments, intent on finding something else to put on.

It was fine and well for Sasuke to be made to change, but when it came time for the vaunted captain of the bloody ship to do the same, well no, it was suddenly impossible. Sasuke ranted inwardly to himself for several furious minutes as he held up and considered the pantalettes. Stubborn, hypocritical, block-headed-

Brown hands came around him from behind and pulled him slowly, gently against a body that always seemed to startle him with its hardness. He tried to remain stiff, pretending to examine the clothing in his hands as if nothing was happening, but those lips he knew so well lowered to his shoulder. The pantalettes fell to the floor. He turned and let himself be kissed.

_He tastes so good, _Sasuke thought. _And he holds me just right, just the way I want to be held by him. I can tell I mean more to him than I've ever meant to anyone. How can he possibly think I could walk away from that? From him?_

Sasuke leaned back from the kiss. "I l-"

Naruto hastily put a finger to Sasuke's lips. "No. It's just words."

"But-"

"Sasuke, please. Just be with me, here and now."

"I'll always b-"

"_No. _No promises. You've said nothing will change your mind and that's enough. I don't want more than that from you."

Sasuke nodded, not quite understanding. He would get the full story later. For now, he contented himself with showing Naruto what the man didn't want to hear.

* * *

It was the first he'd ever set out to deliberately seduce Naruto. Their passion for each other was always just _there, _ready and waiting and combustible. It ignited at the slightest touch or from the merest glance. Naruto stood passive now, kissing Sasuke, but Sasuke wanted to fan the flames of his desire to an unbearable pitch. He wanted Naruto to consume them both in a frenzy of need and unrestrained love.

He _would _have the man's love, be it restrained now or not.

The gloves inhibited him from feeling the hot skin the way he wanted to, but he could tell the satin stimulated Naruto. He slid his gloved hands along the wide chest muscles, pushing Naruto's shirt off his shoulders. He pressed lightly and Naruto backed up. He continued pressing until the bed hit the back of Naruto's knees and he fell on it. He supported himself on his elbows behind him, leaning at an angle. Sasuke rested one knee by Naruto's hip and bent to sample the exposed length of Naruto's throat.

He caught sight of himself in the mirror and was struck at the imagery. It was a representation of seduction if ever he'd seen one: Naruto with the shirt hanging off his arms, head thrown back. Him with the gloves and choker, the black net stockings topped with lacy garters…a smile of possession on his lips and his hair hiding one eye. If he could freeze time, so he'd always have this one moment as proof of his power over Naruto, he would do it in a heart beat. Alas, there was no photographer present. Memory would have to suffice.

He was slow about it. Lowering himself to Naruto's lap, he was slow in planting kisses around his bobbing Adam's apple, and the cords that stood out sharply. He nibbled the square chin, and the earlobes hidden beneath the blonde hair. He nuzzled around the parted pink lips, over the nose, beneath the closed eyes.

The shirt was taken off, whisked to the floor. Sasuke spent long moments circling his satiny fingertips on Naruto's nipples. They became erect, hardened little buds that made Naruto bite his lip when Sasuke pinched them. He pinched and rubbed until Naruto's hips thrust upward in rhythmic supplication.

Downward. Sasuke let his palms glide downward over the hills and valleys of Naruto's washboard stomach, then up to flick the nipples again, before sliding back down. Naruto shuddered, rumbled deep in his throat. Sasuke bent to give a soft kiss to that warm mouth. Naruto leaned into it, wanting more, but Sasuke pulled back.

He got on his knees by the bed and reached to pull Naruto's pants off. They weren't fastened now, showing a healthy thatch of hair and the topmost part of Naruto's stiffening bulge. Naruto himself helped the process by lifting his hips off the bed. He kicked the pants aside when they were down around his ankles.

Sasuke spent a few moments running one satin-covered fingertip around the moist glans of Naruto's tip once the foreskin was out of the way. The slight friction of the material had Naruto pounding the mattress with his fists and growling through his teeth. Sasuke saw spittle fly from Naruto's mouth at the force of these growls. The clear discharge Naruto leaked, lubricating the path Sasuke's finger took, gave a rich, musky odor that made him salivate to take the broad head into his mouth.

Naruto roared at the ceiling, bayed and howled and bawled until his face was scarlet at feeling Sasuke swirl his tongue just around the head of his cock. That nimble tongue delved his slit once, twice, three times, before Sasuke's mouth closed over his swollen tip and held there. What had his sanity threatening to leave him were those _hands_, the way those gloved hands felt as they squeezed and massaged his shaft.

Sasuke let Naruto ooze his salty juices onto his tongue. He let his mouth fill with the stuff before swallowing. Seeing how this made Naruto buck, in addition to the yells, he did it again. He gave a series of fast, sharp sucks just to the tip of Naruto's cock, careful not to bite, and that had the man screaming hard enough to bring the roof down. He kept that up until Naruto pushed him away, too stimulated to bear more.

He waited a moment, only a moment, before taking him into his mouth again. This time he moved up and down the length of him, letting Naruto fill his throat before he pulled back slowly until Naruto's cock rested against his closed lips. He would let the head force his lips apart as he repeated the process, fondling the heavy pouch beneath the cock and the shaft all at once. The sounds Naruto made spurred him on, making him suck hungrily, eagerly swallowing every drop of arousal Naruto gave up. He was so mad for the taste of Naruto that his own growls soon joined Naruto's as he sucked and licked and bobbed unreservedly. His gloves were soon completely wet with the saliva that dripped past his mouth.

Naruto came like a geyser erupting, and this time Sasuke held the shaft in his mouth, determined to finally drink this offering he was always denied.

Naruto flopped backward on the bed weakly. By the time Sasuke crawled up next to him he was sound asleep. He looked at him for a long, silent time. Then he positioned them both so they were comfortable on the bed and slept with him.

* * *

He woke without opening his eyes and smiled; he loved waking up to the feel of Sasuke in his arms. Somehow it felt right, like this was the way one should always wake up. He buried his face in the dark hair beneath his nose and inhaled. Sasuke murmured in his sleep. Naruto squeezed him tighter, enjoying the feel of Sasuke's ass against his groin, and opened his eyes.

His internal time keeper said it was past nine in the morning. Certainly the light streaming in the window verified this. They'd slept the night through. Looking toward the desk, he saw that Gaara had been by. Breakfast sat waiting, and the cabin had been tidied up. He allowed himself the luxury of just holding Sasuke close and feeling the gentle rocking of his ship. This, this very moment, he could not remember ever being happier in all his life.

Sasuke was his. The thought made his grin hard enough to hurt his face. He laughed, making Sasuke stir, which brought his attention back to him. Sasuke had received no pleasure last night. That was an oversight that needed some attention.

-oOo-

He came awake with a start at feeling the warm mouth on his anus. Sasuke half sat up, then wilted back to the mattress as the pleasure took over. "Mmm… do continue." He turned over and spread his legs wider, noting he still had those blasted stockings on.

Naruto was happy to comply. He had Sasuke reduced to a moaning, quivering mass, one that was easy to turn over again. He lifted one of Sasuke's limp arms by the wrist and let it drop heavily. He settled in beside Sasuke, spooning him from behind once more. "Sasuke?"

"A most agreeable way to greet the morning, I must say." Sasuke spoke with his eyes closed. "How might I serve you?"

"Open your eyes."

"Must I?"

"Yes." He lifted Sasuke's right leg and positioned himself. "I want you to watch with me."

"Watch what?" Eyes still closed against the sunlight slanting across the bed.

"This." Naruto shoved his hips forward, impaling Sasuke completely in one thrust. He was exquisitely tight, since Naruto hadn't stretched him first. Chills flew from Naruto's balls up his spine at the wonderful heat, at the way Sasuke clenched reflexively around the intrusion of his thick cock.

Sasuke's eyes were definitely open now. He reared up to lean on his left elbow. Naruto was in the same position and pecked his lips before he could voice his protests.

"Look," Naruto said. He tipped his head toward the mirror.

Sasuke looked. Then he stared.

He'd seen himself in the mirror before, but never like this. He'd never seen his own anus, or Naruto entering it. He'd never seen the act actually performed.

Sasuke lost all awareness of his surroundings as he watched himself being fucked. It was one thing to feel himself filled to the point of sizzling pain, quite another to see the skin of his rectum stretched tightly around Naruto's width. Naruto made the sight more exciting by withdrawing completely each time he pulled back. Sasuke watched in dumb fascination as his canal was left gaping open. It closed slowly each time, and each time Naruto would wait until it was nearly completely returned to normal before thrusting back in. So erotic was this tableau that Sasuke's own cock lengthened and thickened until it leaked. It was distended to the point of hurting, which further spiced his excitement.

He saw and felt Naruto bending his head to leaves warm kisses on his shoulder. He turned as if in a daze, held Naruto's chin, and said, "Fuck me hard."

He took care to watch when Naruto gave him what he wanted. To see the fat, glistening shaft slipping in and out of him rapidly, and Naruto's seed pouch flopping wildly, caused Sasuke to grab his cock and stroke in abandon. Naruto shifted behind him and Sasuke felt that place in him stabbed sharply, hard enough to make him come explosively, and still he watched. His mouth was wide open, his seed flying out of him and his hole was a wide, red circle around Naruto's tireless cock. "Harder," he grunted between gasps. "Harder. Harder. _Harder. _Don't stop."

Naruto held him steady by a hand on his hip. Sasuke held his own leg up as he watched Naruto increase the force of his thrusts. That place in him took a few hits, nothing deliberate, but each time Sasuke issued a squeal of acute pleasure/pain. He did not take his eyes off where they were joined. Fluid leaked from his ass now, no doubt from Naruto. He saw how each thrust made his body quiver, how his sac tightened just before he came again. He felt Naruto's organ swell further, making him grit his teeth at how tight his anus felt and knew Naruto was close to finally finishing.

Sasuke's eyes glazed over as Naruto rammed home with all his strength and held still inside him. He felt his ass filled completely with load after rumbling load of hot seed. He saw that drool coated his chin and cheek, and that his eyes were still moist. Then Naruto was pulling out of him.

His ass took longer to revert to normal this time. Sasuke squeezed his sphincter and gasped as the pain and pleasure had him coming again, a minor spurt that fell on his thigh. He squeezed once more, mesmerized by the sight of his anus contracting and coated with white seed. Naruto was still propped up behind him. He met his eyes in the mirror.

"Push my seed out of you," Naruto said quietly. "I want to see it."

Sasuke reversed what he was doing with his sphincter and gazed with Naruto at the thick flow of seed that bubbled out of his hole. He did it again, letting the stuff ooze down one half of his ass. He contracted and released his muscles a third time, watching his hole open and close and leak out another wash of white fluid.

Naruto scooped some up on two fingers and offered it to Sasuke. Staring raptly into Naruto's eyes, Sasuke stretched out his tongue and licked tentatively. Then he sucked the fingers greedily into his mouth. Naruto licked his lips in appreciation, withdrew his fingers, and gathered more of his essence from Sasuke's ass. This time he sucked his fingers clean himself, looking at Sasuke the entire time.

_There's no going back and there'll never be another, _Naruto thought dazedly. _Not after this._

He kissed Sasuke hard, each tasting their new bond on the other.

* * *

The tone of their lovemaking changed drastically after that. There was much holding of hands, much staring into each other's eyes as they loved fiercely. Naruto stopped leaving the cabin entirely, relying heavily on Gaara to bring them food and baths, and to carry messages to his crew. What neither man voiced with words was said with the prolonged contact of their bodies, with every punishing thrust and steamy kiss. It got so that sometimes Gaara walked in on mornings to find them poking diligently beneath the cover of the blanket. He soon became used to this sight and no longer stared in shock. He simply left the breakfast tray, or emptied the chamber pot, or filled the tub with water and left.

Days and weeks passed in this manner.

* * *

Naruto gave a final thrust and emptied himself tiredly in Sasuke's body, just as Sasuke himself came weakly between their stomachs. Both were nearly faint as they settled down to sleep, still joined intimately. Naruto rolled so that Sasuke was on top of him and that did the job of jostling him free of the man's well-used ass. He chuckled.

Sasuke bounced on his chest with Naruto's laughter. "What?"

"Just thinking that my poor cock will soon break off in your ass if we keep at this much longer."

"That won't do, will it? I love your cock."

"You don't say?"

Sasuke rested his chin on Naruto's chest. "I do say. And I love your skin."

Naruto smiled widely, on the brink of laughing again. "My _skin? _Why?"

"It's always so hot. And I love your legs."

Now Naruto did laugh, loudly and richly. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke when he'd calmed down, happily gazing into the serious black eyes. "My legs. I see. What else?"

"Your feet. And your hair."

"Go on. You seem to like making me blush like a maiden."

"I love your hands and your neck. Your back. Your eyes. Your face."

Naruto rolled his eyes extravagantly, laughing despite himself. "One wonders if you'll soon compose sonnets to my splendor. Anything else?"

"I love you."

Naruto started to laugh, but the words replayed themselves in his mind. His smile froze, faded slowly.

Sasuke hadn't smiled once. He regarded Naruto calmly, silently challenging him to run away again. He felt when Naruto's heart stuttered then picked up a frenetic pace. It hammered against his own chest and he wanted nothing more than to comfort Naruto from his fears, whatever they were. He didn't. He only said the words again, emphasizing them by adding the man's beloved name. "I love you, Naruto."

He couldn't look away. The shame looking away would cause, branding him as a coward, would be too much to bear, but Sasuke's eyes were impossible to withstand. Too much naked truth and unabashed feeling in those eyes. Didn't he know men weren't supposed to say such things? That was for women and newlyweds and people who actually felt such a thing. It wasn't for the likes of Uzumaki Naruto.

But he couldn't look away. And his face was warming up, and those eyes would mock him if he continued to say nothing… and they were alone. They were alone, and it was _Sasuke, _his own precious, unique, wonderful, dear, dear Sasuke. He could do it. He could say it… especially since it was sort of… well, kind of… maybe a little bit… in a completely manly and in-control sort of way… possibly true.

He moistened his dry lips. The black eyes crinkled, anticipating the words. "I… I lo-"

_"Land!"_

The shout completely scattered their thoughts, making Sasuke frown as he glanced at the cabin door. Without the contact of Sasuke's eyes, Naruto lost his nerve… then the shout was repeated and he quickly set Sasuke aside, reaching for his pants.

* * *

On deck, he followed Shikamaru's pointing finger and saw that land was indeed on the horizon. His crew greeted him enthusiastically, not having seen him for many days. They saw that Naruto had lost weight and snickered behind their hands at the idea of the man screwing himself to the bone. Neji actually laughed outright.

Naruto glanced behind himself and found Sasuke coming on deck, wearing a pair of pants and a shirt he recognized as belonging to Shino. No doubt Gaara had supplied them. Sasuke met his eyes, smiled, and gave him a wink.

Relief loosened Naruto's shoulders. He'd get back to Sasuke soon. The man would be ready and waiting for him… maybe he would actually say what Sasuke wanted to hear. Watching Sasuke listen to Neji explain something about their first stop, he felt his heart pounding away again.

A smile stretched his mouth as he turned to study the logs Shikamaru had brought. He would definitely say it.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Neji and Naruto talk about soul mates in this and yes, Neji has already met his soul mate in this I know telegrams capable of reaching across the Pacific didn't come into effect until 1902, but please suspend your disbelief for the sake of this chap. We'll assume that all important telegram reached Japan through some other roundabout means.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 16

Their first stop was Osaka. The _Whirlwind _was a kicked anthill of activity as they neared port. Sasuke remained at the railing, alternately watching land draw closer and Naruto operate in his element. Gaara stood at his side, staring eagerly at the approaching land and asking if they would disembark to take in the sights.

"My parents were from Japan. My brother and sister were born there. Dad said he would take me one day, if enough money could be saved, but then he got sick…" He looked up at Sasuke brightly. "I overheard the captain telling you one evening how his parents lived in Japan. Have you ever been, sir?"

Sasuke still could not picture Gaara listening to his activities with Naruto through the door. "Overheard? I'm fairly certain those conversations were in Japanese. Do you speak Japanese, Gaara?"

Gaara blinked, frowning as if trying to puzzle out why he would be asked such a simple question. He answered slowly. "Yes? Sir… you and I have spoken in Japanese a time or two… don't you remember?"

"We have?"

"Yes, sir. One morning you told me to have Temari launder your female cl-"

"Ah, that will do Gaara, thank you." Sasuke said hastily, glancing around. "I remember now."

"And another time you asked me to help you put on the corset again-"

"I said that's _enough, _Gaara." Sasuke ran a hand over his longish hair, smoothed his hand down his front. Gaara looked hurt at the sharp tone. Sasuke looked around carefully, before beckoning the lad closer. He spoke in a whisper, moving his lips as little as possible. "Certain things are not to be mentioned –ever- where others can hear. Is that understood, Gaara?"

Gaara's brow cleared. "Of course, sir. I've never told anyone, and I made sure Temari laundered your-" Sasuke gave a threatening glance, and Gaara caught himself in time. "-Your _things_ at night, in a dark corner of the ship."

Sasuke nodded in approval. "Excellent. I'm well-pleased with you Gaara. I believe my brother would have liked you."

"Did he have a manservant, sir?"

"Itachi? At one point he did. The fellow made a lewd comment about my sister-in-law one time, though, and knowledge of it got back to Itachi. He was dismissed without pay. My… how time passes," Sasuke mused. "Karin was in a delicate way when she… well, when the accident took place. Had she lived, she would have delivered by now."

"What's a delicate way mean, sir?"

"With child."

"Oh." Gaara watched men ashore pointing at the _Whirlwind _and hailing her crew in Japanese. "Sir, did you also have a manservant back home?"

"I did, yes. And still do, presumably."

"I see. So I guess I won't be going home with you, will I."

"As I don't intend to go home myself, I don't see that as a problem."

"Oh." And Gaara smiled one of his rare smiles. Sasuke smiled back, ruffling the boy's shaggy hair.

* * *

Kakashi's liaison in Japan met them at the dock. He and Naruto bowed formally, before the man took Naruto aside, leaving his workers to unload the _Whirlwind._

"Kakashi-san has informed us via telegram of the ill luck you and the rest of the ships received rounding the Horn," the man, one Umino Iruka, was saying to Naruto. "He wants you to know that one ship was indeed sunk. The other two were damaged and took shelter in nearby isles to be repaired. They returned to Panama. Also, Kakashi-san sent another telegram just for your eyes." Iruka bowed Naruto into a coach and followed him inside. Once comfortably seated, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the telegram. He handed it to Naruto.

Naruto took the telegram absently. He was busy looking out the window, taking in his first sight of Japan since he'd left it in infancy. He might as well have been seeing it for the first time. The port was overrun with Portuguese and British sailors and seamen, but enough Japanese ran around to give him a sense of awe and wonder. They were short, wiry people, much like Iruka was. Listening closely, Naruto quickly learned that his Japanese, previously thought by him to be acceptable, was hardly on par with the fluency being spoken around him. Odd. Sasuke hadn't said his language was deficient.

He only became aware of the letter again when he and Iruka had concluded their business. He was putting the signed contract for the cargo he'd dropped off and the wax and pigments he'd picked up into his own shirt pocket. His fingers brushed the telegram and he frowned. But Iruka was telling Naruto how he was welcome to the use of a home Kakashi-san's captains regularly stayed in when in port. "It belongs to the company, of course," Iruka bowed. "You'll want several days to make repairs to your own ship, if any are to be made, and replenish your stores, yes?"

Naruto eyed Iruka's bowed head, remembering distant conversations with his mother telling him how easy it was to offend someone in Japan. He bowed now again, beginning to loathe the custom. "Your hospitality is welcome, uh, Iruka-sa… Iruka-dono. I'm afraid my family hasn't been to these shores since I was a babe. Forgive my manners if they offend. I am ignorance. _Ignorant. _I am ignorant, sorry."

Iruka gave another bobbing bow, noting with satisfaction that Naruto at least remembered to keep his eyes downcast. So many from other nations had the insufferably rude habit of making prolonged eye contact. It was hard to deal with such barbarians. This one showed promise.

Naruto said he'd like to spend this first night on his ship, but that he would take Iruka up on his offer by morning, when he'd left someone else in charge. Iruka said that would be fine.

* * *

Back on his ship, Naruto found the crew already mostly departed. Neji remained, scrupulously trying to communicate with a local dock rat. He spotted Naruto and hurried over. "Talk to this man, will you? I think he's saying he wants to check the ship for repairs, but seeing as you didn't give me or anyone else leave to authorize any, I had to decline. Guy's getting excited. Everyone else went ashore," he added when Naruto looked around.

Naruto confirmed that the man was with Iruka, and thus an employee with the company. He made arrangements with Naruto to have his men check the _Whirlwind _tomorrow morning. The man left with a contemptuous look in Neji's direction.

Neji and Naruto sat by the wheel, watching the sun set. The last of the workers finished unloading _Whirlwind _and spoke briefly with Naruto, who went with him to the dock master to sign something. The new cargo would be loaded once the ship had been checked for damages.

Naruto, already missing Sasuke, returned to the wheel where Neji was sitting on the deck and looking up at the appearing stars. He dropped down beside him once more and pulled out something Iruka had given him. "_Sake,_" he said in response to Neji's questioning look.

"I know what it is," Neji drawled, snatching it. "Just didn't believe you were willing to share. You've been at my head more or less since we left New York." He swigged deeply. "Honestly, you and your prickly sensibilities. You choose to bugger a man in plain hearing of everyone and expect us to just pretend nothing's going on."

Naruto felt his usual annoyance with Neji surface. He snatched the _sake _bottle back. "You're a piece of work yourself, jackass." He too drank deeply.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Naruto shot back. "The others are nicely fooled by your ongoing little act, but don't think I don't know the real reason you keep provoking me with comments about Sasuke."

Neji met Naruto's glare with a steady look of his own. "You swore never to mention it. You gave your _word _when we were boys, Naruto."

"No one's around to hear," Naruto waved contemptuously. "Your precious secret is safe. I just don't know why you feel the need to push me as you do." He glowered at Neji's profile. "You know I don't want my tastes to be common knowledge either."

Neji put his head back against the bulwark and sighed. He took the _sake _when Naruto handed it to him after a moment. He sensed Naruto adopting his position of leaning against the bulwark as well and contemplating the darkening skies. A small laugh left him through his nose. He sipped thoughtfully. "Shino and Chouji have worked with you for years now, but I'm your oldest friend," he said quietly. "Ever since I rescued you from that creepy man."

Some creepy man had indeed offered to pay Naruto a dollar for the chance to sodomize him in an alley. Neji was only two or three years older, but even as a child, his fighting skills had been legendary. Naruto had signed on with Kakashi at age seven a year later and had begged a place for his friend. Kakashi had taken Neji on and trained him alongside Naruto.

"Your point being?" Naruto said now.

"I can tell how you feel about him. I can see how he feels about you." Neji rolled his head sideways, still leaning against the bulwark, to look at Naruto's lowered face.

Naruto smirked. "So that's it. You're jealous."

"Damn right, I am. A gift like Sasuke from the heavens and you're resisting him."

Naruto started to protest, but Neji continued, talking over him.

"Oh, not physically. Even now you still stink of sex, but I know you. You can touch him as much as you like, but I can see you fighting him on the inside. Is love really so bad?"

Naruto scoffed. "What do you know of love?"

"What do _you _know of it? Really? If you've never felt it, why fight it? He could be the love of your life, your soul mate."

Naruto stalled by polishing off the _sake. _"You should have been born a woman. Soul mate?" Naruto shook his head. Then he grew serious. "I have stopped fighting him. At least I think I have. He's… pretty hard to resist."

Neji grinned. "Naruto… what's it like? Having a man for so much time?"

"Bliss. Heaven. Hell. Every wonderful thing you can imagine in between."

"And he wants you as you want him?"

Naruto blushed. "I can scarce find time to sleep. If I'm not wanting him, he's wanting me." He looked aside then and caught Neji's wistful expression. "I used to believe things like this… well, they were only in dreams. But if it's happened to me it could happen to you, right? Your soul mate could be walking around, looking for you."

Neji laughed. "Me? A soul mate? Right. I'm not as brave as you to go buggering someone on end in full view of others. I'll never have a soul mate."

"What if you do? What if you've already met the person?"

Neji twisted his mouth, looking skyward again. "If I'd already met my soul mate, don't you think I would know?"

Naruto shrugged. "When I met Sasuke I had no idea what he would come to mean to me. I just thought him a dirty noble who'd been set upon by robbers or something. You could have met the love of _your_ life and not even realized it."

Neji studied Naruto. "Well that's lovely, isn't it? Why would life have me meet my soul mate only to whisk him away again? What would be the point?"

"Life's a bitch," Naruto shrugged. Then he thought of Sasuke. "But sometimes she's generous." He smiled in a way that had Neji rolling his eyes and sniggering.

* * *

The next morning, Shikamaru informed Naruto that he and the rest of the crew had come upon Iruka and taken his offer of lodging at the company residence in Osaka. Sasuke was there, waiting. "I'll oversee the repairmen and the loading of the new cargo," he said. "You and Neji can go ahead and get cleaned up."

Iruka had transportation waiting for Naruto. He and Neji climbed in. The driver, a wizened Japanese man, kept sneaking peeks at Neji. "Is something wrong?" Neji finally asked, keeping his tone polite with an effort.

"You are Hyuuga." The man stared at Neji's hair and eyes.

"That I am." Neji promptly leaned back in his seat and dozed off.

Naruto found the exchange interesting. He'd never quite believed Neji's assertion that every Hyuuga in Japan was recognizable on sight. How could an entire family look the same? Ridiculous.

The house was a pretty one story job done predominately in the local style. A serving woman, also local, greeted them at the door and admonished Neji and Naruto to take their shoes off. She then pointed them in the direction of waiting baths.

Neji stripped and sank into the hot water with a groan. Naruto took off his coat and rediscovered the telegram from yesterday. Curious, he took it out and read it as the serving woman waited patiently for him to finish disrobing.

A sharp spike of fear and pain stabbed through Naruto's midsection so that he gasped softly. After that he hid the rest of his reaction well. He read the telegram again, then a third time. He glanced up, his face and neck hot, but Neji had his eyes closed. The serving woman was kneeling in a corner, hands folded in her lap, eyes down. No one had seen his brief slip.

Naruto quickly chewed the telegram and swallowed it with difficulty. He took off the rest of his clothes and stepped into the waiting tub of water.

-oOo-

"Naruto! I thought you'd gotten lost," Sasuke greeted him enthusiastically when he met him in the garden later. "My, don't you look dapper."

Along with the rest of his crew, Naruto had had his old clothes, little better than rags now, removed and replaced with attire more befitting to a merchant. They were sturdy, well-made pants and shirts, good shoes, and a coat. Sasuke's longish hair was brushed back. Naruto's own hair had been somewhat overgrown before his bath, but he'd consented to let the serving woman cut it.

An acidic ball of panic settled in his stomach at seeing Sasuke, but he staunchly ignored it. "Enjoying yourself?"

"I am, yes. Who knew the customs I learned at my dear father's knee would come in so handy? I fit right in here. Are you all right?" Sasuke came and rested a hand on Naruto's arm. "You look pale."

Naruto sat on one of the small benches. "Fine. Hungry is all." He glanced around. "Surprised Gaara isn't here. The kid is your bleeding shadow." He ran a hand through his hair, trying to still his sudden shakes.

Sasuke sat beside him. "Gaara went with his brother and sister to explore the city. I thought it'd give you and me some time alone. Shall I tell the woman to bring food?" He turned to signal the serving woman who always seemed to be nearby.

Naruto couldn't eat. He got up abruptly. "I'm going for a walk."

"Oh… I'll come with you."

"No," Naruto said quickly. When Sasuke stared at him, he added. "Alone. I need to be alone. I'll be back tonight."

Sasuke watched Naruto leave, ignoring the small bow the serving woman gave him as he shouldered past her. He sat back on the bench and studied the rocks placed carefully in the garden. His brow cleared. _It must be knowing that when last he was here his parents were alive. That must be it. Poor man._

-oOo-_  
_

Sasuke went to his room later and asked for something to read. When Gaara came scampering in towards nightfall he found Sasuke reading by candle light. He knelt next to him, face shining, and regaled Sasuke with his adventures of the day.

"Thank you for giving me the day off, sir. What are you reading?"

"A rather tedious tale of a monk. Would you like to read it?"

"I don't read or write Japanese too well."

"Ah, then you must learn. Come, read this passage for me here."

* * *

The serving woman spoke in furious, strident tones, but the visitor she'd opened the door to reminded her of his own importance and superiority in rank. He moved roughly past her to enter the house.

Sasuke, having heard the commotion, came and stood just at his doorway, listening as the visitor asked where Hyuuga Neji was. He glanced in Sasuke's direction, then proceeded to search the rooms himself. The serving woman jabbered at his back, following him, saying Neji-san was asleep, and her boss would hear of this insult done to them.

Gaara watched with Sasuke as the man located Neji's room, entered, and began a long loud recital, obviously memorized. Neji was dragged out cursing and ranting in English. A few blows were exchanged. Sasuke had never seen such a fighting style, but recognized it as superior to his own. Neji was bested and shoved toward the front of the house, toward the door.

"Should I alert Naruto that you're in trouble?" Sasuke asked as Neji stormed past him.

"No. Just tell him not to leave without me." Neji threw a filthy look behind him at the visitor before snatching up his shoes and slamming out of the house. The visitor followed calmly.

"Who was that?" Gaara asked fearfully. "Why did he say Neji's presence was required?"

"I don't know. I assume it was a relative," Sasuke answered as he turned back to his room. "He and Neji looked remarkably alike."

* * *

Naruto wandered until he found himself at his ship. Workers were still loading it, with Shikamaru keeping careful tally against the list in his hand. "Evening, Captain," he looked up. "Should be done here by moonrise. We could conceivably be off by morning."

Naruto nodded vaguely. "Maybe. See that I'm not disturbed, Shikamaru."

He went to his spotless cabin and closed the door. He leaned against it. A confusion of thoughts and memories assaulted him at sight of the room he'd hardly left during his trip here, and Naruto found himself able to give way to the misery he'd been feeling all day. The wetness rolled off his chin as he stared at his bed.

He'd known. He'd known it was too good to be true, hadn't he? Yes. He had. How then had he allowed himself, _even for a second, _to entertain dreams of the situation being otherwise? Inexcusable. Well and good for other dimwits like Sasuke and Neji to believe in happy endings, but he damn well knew better.

He had to marvel at the timing though. With him on the cusp of declaring himself formally to Sasuke, Fate had stepped in to remind him of his rightful place. Life _was_, ever _had _been, and ever _would_ be the vilest bitch, Naruto thought viciously as he scrubbed his cheeks.

The pain was sharp as it cored him from within, but the worst of it was behind him now, or so he told himself. He sat at his desk as he put his face in his hands. He thought long and hard and seriously.

He couldn't continue to deceive Sasuke. Not even he was that wicked. But the way Naruto saw it, nothing had to be said just yet. What good would knowing now do? Truly? When they returned to Panama would be soon enough. He would tell Sasuke then, by God he would. By then, any anger Sasuke may or may not feel at Naruto's secrecy wouldn't matter.

For now he would enjoy the last of what Fate had tempted him with. From now until he reached Panama he would take what Sasuke had to offer and that was that. After… well, that would remain to be seen, though he was fairly certain he was sure what Sasuke would decide. No use thinking about it now.

-oOo-

Naruto exerted a considerable force of will to kick ashes over the smoldering remains of his hurt and stand up. He was mostly numb by the time he made it back to the house in the city and was listening to Sasuke tell of Neji's abduction. The rest of his specialized crew was home as well, and listening in concern. They looked to Naruto, who'd remained strangely silent and detached throughout Sasuke's tale.

"We'll wait two days," Naruto said. "Then we'll leave. If he's with us good, if not, well Neji's not stupid. He'll find his way back."

Without looking at Sasuke or anyone else, Naruto turned and went to a room traditionally given to the Captain and his First Mate. He laid himself down on the futon.

He did not sleep.

* * *

Neji was given a horse, but only because it was the quickest way to get back to the nearest Hyuuga home, and one his uncle happened to be staying in. His escort, and Neji used the term loosely, also had a horse. The ride would take the better part of a day and night, even with fresh horses, but apparently Uncle Hiashi wanted to see him badly enough.

The ride was brutal. Having not been on a horse since before his voice changed, Neji was at a distinct disadvantage, but he was nothing if not adaptable. He mastered himself and his horse, recalling how to move with the beast, before too many miles had passed. He spent the remainder of the time thundering along the road behind his escort deep in thought.

That his uncle had spies in Osaka surprised him not at all. That he was being summoned did. He was an exile. What did his uncle want? All he'd been able to make out from the long-winded recital he'd been given back at the house was that his presence was required, was a sign from the gods, and Neji could now finally make himself useful. If his uncle Hiashi thought Hyuuga Neji was staying anywhere in Japan, around the very people to send him and his father away as beggars, he would soon put that notion right out of his head.

-oOo-

Changing horses, they made it to the outer provinces of Osaka in about eighteen hours. Neji was pulled from his horse and shoved toward the house by a kinsman he recognized as being above him but below his uncle. He jerked his arms free, was given a blow to the back of his neck that sent him to his knees for his disrespect, and nearly pulled on his face into the house. He managed to get his feet beneath him before he was presented, mud-splattered and freezing, to his uncle.

The _tatami_ mats and _shouji_ screens brought him memories of the small home he'd shared with his father when they'd been in Japan, but Neji stood up straight until the final screen was slid aside. Here, the old habits assailed him and he prostrated himself before the stern face of his uncle. It hurt his heart to see his uncle's face; it was like seeing his dead father. They had been twins.

Hyuuga Hiashi looked at the man his nephew had become. He'd grown tall. Taller than any Hyuuga in Japan. He would make the offer, he decided. "Hyuuga Neji. It has been long. You have prospered?"

Neji sat back on his heels, adopting the position his uncle was in. The man's bodyguards and one lone female sat in the corners of the room. He looked at the floor in front of his uncle's knees, as was correct. "I've done all right."

"Hmph. I see your Japanese has suffered. Come back to Japan for good and take up your rightful place as my guard. You were an apt student of Gentle Fist and considerably more intelligent than many now filling your place."

Neji chose his words carefully, not wanting to alter the meaning with his rusty Japanese. "I would rather hang myself."

There was a moment of silence wherein Neji could feel hostility from nearly every pair of eyes in the room. He sensed amusement from the female in the corner. Who was she?

Hiashi recovered. "A dog, you are. I was right to exile you. Very well, we come to why I summoned you." He gestured to the female. "I have been dishonored with siring a daughter unworthy of carrying on after me. She, too, is to be exiled for her transgressions. I have prayed to my ancestors for guidance, and lo! I am given news of a Hyuuga arrived on a ship. Take her. It is meant to be. May I never set eyes on either of your faces again."

The guards stood, grasped Neji under his arms and lifted him. They grabbed the female in a similar manner, and hurled them both from the house and into the mud of the road in front of it. The large gate was shut behind them with a clang. Neji saw two fresh horses standing waiting, held by a small Hyuuga boy. One horse was laden with two large parcels. A crack of thunder, a flash of lightning, and it began to rain with freezing intensity. The road was deserted but for the three of them.

Neji rounded on the woman. "Daughter, he said. _Hinata?_"

The woman lifted her drenched, bowed head. "Yes. Apologies, Neji-kun, for how you were treated."

Neji stared in disbelief. Her formal lavender kimono was quickly darkening to match the darker purple of her _obi_ the longer they stood in this downpour. Her _tabi_ socks and _geta_ were already covered in mud, yet she stood demurely, waiting for him to take charge.

His mind was in a state of shock, as he gave her a hand up to her horse. She sat side saddle and held the reins expertly. "Unbelievable," Neji swore as he hoisted himself onto his own horse. The boy scuttled to a side gate of the house and disappeared. "I'm hauled from Osaka to here at a breakneck pace, burdened with you, then thrown back out on my ass without so much as a sniff of _sake _or a grain of rice to eat. I was in that house less than thirty minutes. Rude son of a bitch! I'm a dog? He's the dog of dogs, that jackass!"

He was galloping along heedlessly, only belatedly becoming aware that Hinata's horse couldn't keep up with the burden of her and her parcels. He slowed down. Hinata caught up, and they put the horses to a steady trot. He was too furious to bother asking what she was being exiled for, yet not swine enough to leave her to her own defenses. He suffered her presence in fuming silence, cold and shivering and longing to hit someone.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: There is fanart of Sasuke in his red and black get-up accessible from my profile, as well as up on the facebook page! *o* I love it, and hope you do too. The rest of this author's note will be at the end of the chapter.

*Warning: Angst in this chap.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 17

Sometime before dawn of that second night in Osaka, the night Naruto lay sleepless on his futon, Sasuke entered the room and lay with him. Naruto's mind was adrift on anger, pain and regret, but he responded to the questioning kisses and strong hands. He entered Sasuke on a sigh, and felt some of the things loose in his chest settle down once more.

They were quiet. When it was over, and Naruto looked up, he saw that Shikamaru was asleep in the futon across the room. He stared at where Sasuke was pulling on his clothes again. "He could have woken up and seen us," he whispered in dismay.

Sasuke shrugged. He came to lay down on the futon again, and guided one of Naruto's arms around his waist. "Hold me."

Naruto held him. It only served to remind him of the telegram, but he held him close. Then he remembered his vow to enjoy what time he had left with Sasuke and he held him even tighter.

"I miss you," Sasuke said.

"And I miss you."

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked quietly. "Tell me what has you so troubled."

Naruto opted for part of the truth. "Nothing, really. A telegram I received from Kakashi."

Sasuke twisted to see his face. "Oh, Naruto I'm sorry. Is someone dead?"

_Not anymore. _Naruto kissed Sasuke's lips softly, before making him turn around again. "I don't want to discuss it now."

"Of course."

Sleep finally came to Naruto, with Sasuke firmly in his arms.

* * *

Naruto and crew were several hours aboard _Whirlwind, _ready and waiting to be into the wind not two, but three days after Neji disappeared by the time Neji himself showed up with a woman. Both of them were crusted with filth. Neji snarled a curse in response to Naruto's shocked question. The woman made her way up the gangplank on her own and stood sedately before the staring crew in her ruined clothes. Neji flung down her two large parcels he'd carried on his back and disappeared below decks.

Chouji caught Naruto's dazed nod, and began navigating them out of port.

-oOo-

When the story came out at last, between spoonfuls food Neji shoveled crazily into his mouth, Naruto had to fight the urge to laugh. This wasn't hard, since he was still hurting and the urge quickly passed, but it was really too funny. "You've been given the responsibility of her?" Naruto asked with staring eyes. "_You?_ You can barely take care of yourself."

Neji threw his spoon across the room and angrily shook his straggly hair out of his face. "I take care of myself just fine, you shitty prick."

Ignoring that reference to what he did with his prick, Naruto tried again. "I just meant your lifestyle is hardly suited to a noble. Look at her, Neji." They all looked to where Hinata sat primly in a corner, in a clean kimono and with her long hair elaborately done in an old-fashioned Japanese style. Her hair ornaments swayed from the motion of the ship. She held a delicate fan beneath her chin, fluttering it gently. "What in god's name do you plan to do with her?" Naruto asked. "You work for me; does that mean she's staying on my ship indefinitely?"

Neji groaned. "I don't know. I don't know anything. I need to sleep." He crawled into his bunk and did just that.

It was discovered that Hinata knew practically no English. She did nothing but sit beside Neji's snoring form where it swayed in his hammock, until he woke up. Then she could be seen talking with him quietly in Japanese.

Naruto decided she was Neji's problem and mentally dusted his hands of her. He focused on Sasuke.

When they weren't negotiating business in the following ports of Pusan and Tienstin, Naruto locked himself in his cabin and made wild, furious love to Sasuke. Sasuke was just as hungry for him, and the cabin rang with their grunts and yells.

When at last they concluded their business in Asia some weeks later, they struck out for Panama with the holds full and everyone's spirits high.

Mostly everyone. All except Naruto. He could think of little besides the fact that each time the sun went down it meant another day had gone by and he had less time with Sasuke. Savage though their matings were of late, it didn't make him forget this fact. He was eaten with the knowledge, entertaining fantasies of skipping Panama and sailing directly to the far side of the Atlantic. Sasuke was _his, _he couldn't let him go.

But it would likely come to that. And so he loved him hard, and when Sasuke slept in exhaustion he watched him sleep. The women's clothing did not make an appearance again. Sasuke had offered to wear them, but Naruto had declined, saying it wasn't necessary. He couldn't tell Sasuke how unbearable the thought of him trying to please was, not when he himself was lying to him daily by omitting the truth of the telegram. He was mauled by his own guilt and self-hate, by his awareness of his dwindling time with Sasuke, and by the feelings he was powerless not to feel yet too proud to say. That Sasuke survived Naruto's attentions at all was testimony to his own hardiness, or whatever training his father had put him through in his youth.

Even so, Sasuke knew something was wrong. The telegram must have been painful indeed. He couldn't think what the news could have been to leave Naruto like this, but he hoped the man calmed down before too much longer. Naruto was unstoppable with his greater strength, and the stamina he showed during their lovemaking had him weak as a kitten day in and day out. It seemed Naruto had forgotten the meaning of the word sleep. He sincerely hoped that whatever was bothering Naruto could be discussed and laid to rest soon. It hurt him to see the man in so much pain, however well Naruto thought he hid it.

* * *

By the time the _Whirlwind _made it back to Panama, it was a week into 1901. Naruto breathed deeply of the warm weather and marveled that he'd left New York in October, on his 23rd birthday to be exact.

He'd come to an agreement with himself during his return voyage over the Pacific. He was calmer now, somewhat resigned to what was coming, and braced against it. He watched Chouji guide them expertly to the dock, and his ship made fast. He could see Kakashi and the man named in the telegram waiting amidst the bustle of other workers and seamen, and felt sick, but the time had come. No doubt they'd come to the docks every day for the past week at least in the hopes of seeing them. Naruto had sent a telegram from his last port estimating his time of arrival. He let Shikamaru and Chouji see to the immediate duties, while he went to his cabin. He passed Neji leading Hinata off the ship on his way.

Sasuke was fingering his hair, looking at his reflection in the mirror when he entered his cabin. The bright morning sunlight showed Sasuke's hair to have a deep bluish tinge to it, it was so black. Looking at him now, Naruto could see the resemblance to the man who waited for him.

"I can't tell you how good this warm weather feels," Sasuke said as he put his hair in a short tail. "I might consider cutting my hair again now."

"Sasuke."

"Gaara is making sure he has everything packed. I told him we'd be staying here awhile, as you've said."

"Sasuke."

Sasuke turned from the mirror with a smile. "Let me guess. You want to fuck me again?" He looked toward the bed. "I suppose I can agree to that… though I did just get dressed and-"

"Sasuke, does the word _Sharingan _mean anything to you?"

Sasuke's smile froze, his words faltering. A chill chased along his scalp, down his spine, making him shiver. "Where did you hear that word?"

"In the telegram I received in Osaka."

Something. Something teased at the edges of Sasuke's understanding. Naruto's strange behavior, the moodiness, the silences where he stared at Sasuke as if- "My… my brother. It was a word he made up when we were children. We pretended to be ninja like our ancestors were. Itachi concocted fantastic super human powers for us to have… we would play in our secret tree house at Uchiha Manor and _Sharingan _was our password. It was also the name of one of the powers. We… I'm sorry, _where _did you say you heard that word?"

"Is there any way your father could have known the word?"

Sasuke's lips were becoming numb. His hands were cold; he could sense some impending knowledge about to be imparted and he was suddenly terrified. "No. Impossible. Only Itachi and I knew it."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes briefly. Swallowed. "The telegram Kakashi sent me said this: _There is a man here, who arrived shortly before you departed Panama. He says one of your crew fought him and took his money. He also says he is Uchiha Sasuke's brother. His name is Uchiha Itachi. If this is the man you feared wished you and Sasuke harm, be at ease. As verification, he sends this word: Sharingan._

_We await your safe return._"

Sasuke had a completely aristocratic moment and fainted dead away.

* * *

"Nonsense, I will not be kept from my brother a moment longer. Step aside! I said step aside, good sir!"

Sasuke opened his eyes groggily at hearing Itachi's voice. That was wrong. Itachi couldn't be here. It was another dream, that was all. It must be. He'd had many of them, with Itachi coming back and everything being as it was before he'd met Naruto. But that was Naruto's voice telling Itachi that Sasuke was indisposed. And if the truth were known, he hadn't had any of those dreams since falling in love with his insatiable sea captain. Naruto's account of the telegram, and the password, came rushing back. He sat up with a gasp in Naruto's bed just as the cabin door was thrust open.

Itachi stood there, dressed impeccably and outlined by a halo of sunlight. Sasuke was struck dumb.

"It _is_ you, and you _are_ safe," Itachi cried. Hefting his walking cane, he came swiftly to the bed and sat primly on the edge. Sasuke was pulled into a tight embrace. "I tried to come after you, but the weather at the Horn forbade it. And then I found the men who'd been sailing in your group on an island we'd taken shelter on and we all came back here. Oh, Sasuke, I feared you'd perished in that dreadful storm!"

Then it had been Itachi yelling for him on the docks when they'd left Panama. Itachi was the one who'd fought Neji. Itachi had been searching for him all this time. Sasuke raised his hands to his brother's back, finally beginning to believe he was really there. Really and truly alive, and there with him. "Itachi?"

Itachi pulled back to kiss his brother's eyes. "It's me. Are you well, Sasuke?"

"How? What…?" Sasuke could not stop staring at the near replica of his own face. "You're alive?"

"That is a long tale. Are you-"

It was Itachi's smell, and the particular way he tied his cravat, and his monogrammed gloves. Sasuke threw himself at him, hugging him anew and hanging on. He tried to speak, but his words got tangled with his sobs so that nothing at all came out. Itachi understood and held him close.

Naruto, who'd been standing in the doorway, turned and left unnoticed.

* * *

Itachi took Sasuke to the small inn he was staying in just outside the city. Gaara had stood from his position outside the cabin door when they'd exited, and Sasuke had introduced him shakily as his manservant. Itachi had inclined his head formally to the child and seemed content to let him follow Sasuke. "How fortunate you are to have service while traveling," Itachi had murmured. "I've been unable to find anyone suitable in all this time. Curs, the lot of these people. Would you mind young Gaara tending to the both of us for the nonce?"

Gaara had needed to hide his smile of importance. He rode up top with the coach driver.

The coach ride passed swiftly, with Sasuke listening in awe to the tale Itachi told. "Father was furious. He anticipated you'd go to Sai and had him murdered before I could warn him. I knew I'd be next. Sakura's entire family made sure Father knew of the grave insult done to them. My part in your escape came to light. The shame of it alone ensured that my time was short. I took the money he kept in his safe and staged my own death, mine and Karin's," he was saying as they swayed over the dirt roads. "I remained out of sight for a day or two, then got wind of your break into the manor. This, on top of incurring his shame with the Haruno family… I knew Father would stop at nothing to see you dead as well. I had to enlist the aid of obscure yet powerful members of the family, but together we gathered enough evidence to have Father and the city officials in his pocket arrested. Some were even secretly lynched. I believe those same family members who helped me also took father; he disappeared from the jail and has yet to be found, though there were signs of a struggle. If they have indeed taken him, then we may safely assumed he was sent Onward for the way he has dishonored our name. I was instated as the new head of the Uchiha family the day I was informed that you'd been spotted with a large blond man who worked at the docks."

"All that happened in the few days it took me to finally leave New York? So quick! I heard nothing of any of that before I left." Sasuke found it very difficult to reconcile these quick-witted and practical actions with his image of Itachi being a paragon of virtue and perfection.

"You were in hiding," Itachi reminded him. "But we did keep it quiet, yes. I was thoroughly surprised at hearing you'd gone back to the manor at all. When last I saw you, you were on a ship bound for the lower isles."

Sasuke shook his head, still gazing at Itachi avidly and dazed by the miracle of him. "Seems so long ago. They were cutthroats, every last man on that ship. I sunk it and swam to shore. Naruto found me and…" Sasuke hesitated. It occurred to him that his brother had no idea how he'd been living for the past few months, and that he might not approve. Here now, with Itachi returned alive and riding in a coach of the first class, his actions on the _Whirlwind _seemed as if they'd happened in a dream. _It was no dream, _Sasuke thought. His heart pounded even now at the thought of when he could be with Naruto again, and his skin warmed.

Itachi saw the flush on his brother's face and thought he understood. "I can see you've suffered. You've been forced to endure the company of coarse men and commoners. No doubt the only way you could survive was to become somewhat like them. Have no fear that I will judge you, Sasuke. You're back where you belong now. I'm here, and I will never let anything happen to you again." He leaned forward to pat Sasuke's knee.

Sasuke felt his eyes grow misty, but held in his tears this time. "So!" he said with a forced smile. "Are you a father now? Do I have a niece or nephew to dandle on my knee?"

Itachi smiled sadly. "All the traveling weakened Karin. She died delivering the babe not long after I arrived in Panama. It was premature and stillborn. A son. They are buried." Itachi left it at that.

Sasuke knew Itachi had born no great love for his wife, but he'd respected her and cared for her. "I'm sorry."

Itachi waved his hand in dismissal.

-oOo-

They pulled up to the inn and Gaara was there to lower the stairs properly. Sasuke gave him a small nod of approval. "What of mother?" Sasuke asked when he'd been shown to the suite he would be sharing with Itachi. It was generously appointed, with beautifully carved furniture. The large, airy rooms seemed very spacious after the confines of the captain's cabin.

"She was well when I left her," Itachi said. He stood waiting for Gaara to relieve him of his hat, cane and coat. "None too pleased with either of us, I daresay. I had to dismiss much of the household staff, since they were loyal to Father, and probably his spies."

Gaara finished hanging up Sasuke's coat and went to Itachi. "I still can't believe you're here," Sasuke said for the fifth time. "If you only knew how I'd prayed…Itachi felt so guilty for getting you killed."

Itachi frowned. "Nonsense, you did nothing of the kind. Even if I had died, it wouldn't have been your fault." He turned to Sasuke curiously once Gaara had taken his gloves. "The telegram Kakashi sent was delivered some time ago. You speak as if you only just learned of my existence. Pour me and my brother some of that brandy on the sideboard there," he said to Gaara. To Sasuke he said, "That man, Captain Naruto? He sent back a telegram weeks ago saying you were safe with him and that he would return with you. He obviously received Kakashi's telegram. Didn't he tell you of it? Of me?" He sipped from the snifter Gaara handed him.

Sasuke took his own snifter from Gaara as thoughts that had been clamoring at the back of his mind were finally heard. "No," he said slowly. "He didn't."

But Naruto had known. That much was glaringly obvious to Sasuke now. It explained his behavior in Osaka and during their subsequent stops, and during the long days and nights on their return journey. Naruto had known for weeks that his brother was alive and had chosen to leave Sasuke in the dark. Why?

_To keep me to himself, _Sasuke realized with dull rage. That unutterably selfish bastard. The gall of the man. To let him continue to think, even for a moment, that his brother was dead when he knew otherwise…

"Was your time with him terrible?" Itachi asked gently, misreading the shock on Sasuke's face. He held his snifter out for Gaara to take.

Sasuke didn't answer. _He didn't want to lose me, _he realized. _My god, he was petrified of losing me, no wonder he was so wild whenever we… He loves me. He thinks I can't see it, but he does. Oh, the revenge I will take on him! _He suddenly smiled brilliantly, making Itachi stare. "How long before we head back to New York?"

Itachi sat on the plush settee and Sasuke joined him. "I've arranged passage for us next week. Why?"

"Plenty of time for you to get to know him."

"Know who?"

"Naruto. I want you to meet him properly. He's probably concluding his business with Kakashi as we speak, so we can wait until tomorrow. Right now, do you know what I would kill for?"

Itachi smiled at his brother's good spirits. God, how he'd missed him. He'd thought he would go mad when he'd believed Sasuke was dead. He raked the clothing he had on. "Proper attire?"

"You know me so well." Sasuke laughed. Itachi joined him and it was good. It was very, very good to have one's brother back from the grave.

* * *

It was actually two days before Naruto saw Sasuke again. He was tending to the preparations of leaving when the rich coach rolled up to the docks. He saw Sasuke get out, dressed as he'd never seen him dressed, and followed by his brother and Gaara, who was also dressed rather smartly. He paused at seeing confirmation of what he'd dreaded, then tightened his jaw and resumed briefing his new crew of 35 men. Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Kankurou, and Lee were at the forefront of the cluster of men, reprising the roles they'd held aboard the _Whirlwind. _

-oOo-_  
_

Sasuke was allowed on deck with Gaara. Both stared around in awe. The crew dispersed to see to their jobs. Naruto waited calmly with his hands in his pockets. He clenched them to still their trembling.

"I say, this is a huge ship, Naruto," Sasuke came and stopped in front of him.

"A reward for my success on Kakashi's behalf," Naruto said tonelessly. "It's a barque, a steamship, so it will travel faster. It's not mine, I'm just allowed to captain her. _Whirlwind's _being kept safe for me by Kakashi. You look well."

Sasuke finished staring around, and looked down at himself. His suit of gray pants and dark gray coat, complete with starched white shirt and black top hat felt wonderful on his body. He faced Naruto squarely. "Thank you. May I return the compliment?"

Naruto refrained from snorting. Sasuke was every inch the privileged aristocrat once more. He'd bet the devil himself that you couldn't pay Sasuke to say ass or fuck now. "Is there something you wanted? Other than to show me your new suit of clothes?"

Sasuke smiled tightly. "You have no right whatsoever to take that tone with me. You kept the knowledge of my brother to yourself instead of telling me. I should be angry with you."

"And you're not?"

"I am, but not too much. Having Itachi back makes it hard to hold a grudge just now. Come, I want you to meet him."

Naruto glanced at where Itachi stood on the dock. He'd met him yesterday and had barely been able to refrain from snapping his neck; Itachi was the reason he was losing Sasuke. "No."

"Don't be absurd, of course you have to meet him," Sasuke said with a frown. "How do you expect to get along if you don't meet him?" He took Naruto by the arm and attempted to steer him toward the gangway.

Naruto didn't move. "Get along?"

"Well, you'll be a common visitor at the manor, won't you? Run-ins with my brother will be frequent. Come along, I'll introduce you."

For a breathless second, Naruto had hoped Sasuke would say they were coming with him. He gently pulled his arm away from Sasuke. "I'm not going to New York."

Sasuke smiled in confusion, then took in the preparations going on around them with fresh eyes. "You're not? But… where are you going, then?"

"Africa. For starters. But even when I finish there, I'll probably be based out of Panama from now on."

"But I need time with my brother," Sasuke said in bewilderment. "He's been telling me of the many ventures he plans to undertake with the Uchiha name, business ventures, and he needs my assistance. Regardless of that, I can hardly abandon him when he's just been returned to me."

Gaara, who'd been standing with Temari and Kankurou, turned to them slowly and began saying a quiet, tearful goodbye. Temari hugged him hard, weeping hotly against his neck. Kankurou grabbed his brother's face, asking if he was sure about his decision. Gaara nodded, swiping at his running nose.

"I don't see how that is my concern," Naruto was saying.

"It's your concern because you can't go off to Africa when my brother needs me," Sasuke said testily. "Can't this wait a few months?"

Naruto searched Sasuke's eyes in the fading light of the sun. _I met him at sunset. _"Again, how is that _my_ problem?"

Sasuke studied Naruto in turn. He belatedly became of aware of the scene taking place with Gaara, of how the men he'd come to know on _Whirlwind _were staring at him and Naruto sadly while performing their tasks. Sasuke turned back to Naruto slowly and realized something with stunning clarity. "You're leaving me."

All of the former crew of _Whirlwind _paused as these quiet words carried across the deck. Temari and Kankurou hugged their brother tighter. Neji narrowed his eyes at Naruto's back.

"I'd hoped you'd come with me," Naruto said after a moment. "You told me nothing would change your mind-"

"That was before my brother was discovered alive!" Sasuke snapped.

"-but I can't ask you to choose," Naruto finished. He met Sasuke's outraged eyes without blinking. "What did you think would happen? That I'd tag along to New York and work in your stables? Secret _friend _to the lord of the manor? Or was I supposed to return to my old job as a longshoreman and try to find time to meet with you for secret trysts? Which scenario did you envision when you brought brother dearest here to meet me?"

Sasuke's nostrils flared. He _had _entertained thoughts of Naruto perhaps living with them in some capacity. He realized now that Naruto would never stand for that, not after being master of his own life for so long. Naruto was many things, but he was no one's servant. "Then what are we to do?"

"You may do as you wish, Sasuke. I'm sailing to Africa." He turned his back and went to inspect the performance of the newest members of his crew.

Sasuke felt Gaara at his elbow and walked numbly with him toward the gangway. It occurred to him that he shouldn't be giving in like this, that there was more, much more, that needed to be said. His mind was blank, though. Then he was moving down the gangplank.

* * *

On the docks, Itachi asked him a question, but he didn't hear it. The new ship, _Destiny _Sasuke saw it was called, began pulling laboriously away.

He could see Naruto's wide shoulders silhouetted against the pink sky high up on the deck. His hair seemed to catch the very last of the sun's light and glow brilliantly. A series of flashbacks consisting of him and Naruto seared his mind.

_Naruto turning to look at him when he'd hidden behind that pile of wood; Naruto holding his hand during their flight from Uchiha manor; holding Naruto's arm when they'd ridden the coach with Sasuke in disguise; their first steamy kiss; the cheese fight; their first time making love; Naruto's bright smile; sunlight glinting off the hoop in Naruto's ear, the tiny brass key dangling from it; Naruto's hands, his hot body, his gloriously wicked mouth, his cock, his sleepy blue eyes when they'd finished hours of using each other's bodies;_

_'I love you. I love you, Naruto.'_

His heart was sailing away from him. Sasuke jumped in the water without thinking, striking out for the dwindling ship. "Naruto! Naruto, wait!"

-oOo-

Neji had been watching the docks. He slapped the railing in triumph now. "Yes! Least one of you has sense. Naruto quick, send a boat for him!"

Naruto heard his name being called and did not turn around, keeping his eyes on the last rim of the sun visible above the water. His heart was shredded with each distant call of his name, but he clenched his jaw against the pain. "Leave him."

By now Shikamaru and Lee had joined Neji at the railing. "Are you insane?" Neji shouted. "He's screaming for you! He's obviously changed his mind. Go to him, you ass!"

"He certainly is gaining on us," Lee remarked. "The man always could out swim a fish. And him in that heavy coat, too… he means to catch this ship."

Naruto looked around at hearing a grating noise. Neji was lowering one of the smaller boats. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Something you're too chicken-livered to do yourself. You'll thank me later."

Naruto hesitated only a moment. He signaled one of the new seamen, and told them to fetch Hinata and her belongings. Neji turned around at hearing this. "I'm done listening to you or tolerating your disobedience," Naruto said calmly. He then knocked Neji out with a punch his long-time friend didn't see coming. Neji slumped to the deck.

Hinata was brought up from her cabin and stowed in the small row boat Neji had been lowering. Naruto dumped Neji in himself alongside her and lowered them both to the water. He stared down at the boat a moment, swallowing hard, before he turned to the wide eyes of Shikamaru and Lee. "Have his name stricken from the list of crewmen. Alert me when we've left sight of land." Naruto went down to his cabin and locked himself inside.

* * *

Sasuke could not get near the ship. Its propeller would have torn him to shreds and there was no means to scale those steep, sheer sides even if he'd been able to resist the pull of the propeller. He made it to the small row boat as the sun finally set and levered himself inside.

Hinata looked up at him as he stood in the boat, staring at the fading image of _Destiny. _Water from his dripping clothes fell on Neji's bloody face and brought him awake with a spluttering roar. He sat up, looked around, and cursed foully and fluently in both Japanese and English. He took hold of the oars and began rowing them savagely to shore.

Sasuke numbly sank to a sitting position. Neji continued to curse volubly as he yanked on the oars, but he heard none of it.

Naruto had left him.

He was gone.

* * *

A/N: And that was the end of this fic. Seriously. I wanted it to end there, and to feel as abrupt to the readers as it was to Sasuke. I'd already begun work on the sequel and everything, but decided at the last moment that there wasn't enough of Sasuke and Naruto's story in it to justify calling it the sequel to Save Me. The sequel, which won't so much be a sequels as a fic with the same AU, is about Neji and his soul mate, who I'm sure you all know the identity of by now. So. I've decided to extend this to 20 chapters, 19 of which are now written. Sasuke and Naruto's tale will be concluded in this fic after all.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Quite a few things!

1. If I've missed anyone in my replies to reviews, please forgive me. They don't all come at once, so by the time I sit down to reply, I may forget who I've answered and who I haven't. Thank you to all those who share their thoughts!

2. I heard from another reviewer that there is another fic out there, NaruSasu, set in 1900, with Sasuke as a noble and Naruto as a sea captain...down to Sasuke also dressing in women's clothes :( Please know that I did not set out to imitate anyone's work; I don't even read fanfiction unless it's done by my readers. The fact that this fic isn't as original as I thought left me seriously depressed...I pride myself on originality...or at least I try to be. Anyways, over it now. And the reader later clarified that though some elements are the same, it's not a copy.

3. I have more fanart for this fic done by the same artist who did the last one! She is currently offering art from my fics on the fb page, so if there's something you'd like to see let her know! Just go to the discussion page once you get there, and you'll see 2 discussions up. One of them is for the fanart. I've put the art up on DA too, with her permission^^

4. To those who sent me msgs on the fb page and didn't get a reply, I am so sorry...I'm still learning how that page works and didn't think to click on the 'dmnq8+others' page or the 'just others' tab until a couple of days ago. I've now replied to everyone.

5. The sequel to this, dealing with Neji and his man, will be called 'Take Me'

6. Shoutout to **Chamzad2** for trying so hard to guess who Neji's soul mate is^^. And a major shoutout to **alleycat87**. She's the only one to make the correlation between the name _Whirlwind_, and the whirlwind events on that ship, and _Destiny_, and how Naruto (Sasuke's destiny) sailed away. She's also the only one to truly get why Naruto did what he did. She is truly awesome.

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 18

Itachi stood nervously on the dock as Neji tossed up a rope to be fastened by a passing worker who appeared. Neji ascended the ladder attached to that side of the dock and turned to hold down his hand for Hinata, who climbed deftly despite her kimono. Sasuke now sat in the boat alone.

"Sasuke," Itachi called down beseechingly. "Sasuke, you gave me a fright. Come up at once."

He did not respond or turn to look at Itachi. Gaara, who'd watched with a mixture of fear and hope as his master had swum after _Destiny, _asked Itachi if he should go down to retrieve him. Itachi was on the verge of saying yes, when Sasuke slowly stood up and climbed the ladder himself. When he was safely on the docks, Itachi put an arm around him and guided him towards the wharf.

Neji stood with them, with his cousin, if Itachi remembered Sasuke's account of his adventures correctly. Looking at him, Itachi realized it was the same man who'd struck him right here on this very same wharf. He ignored him for the moment to focus on Sasuke.

His brother was sitting on a stray barrel, and beginning to shiver. He continued to stare out to sea. "Sasuke?" When he got no answer, he bent to him. "I didn't hear what was said on the ship, but I take it unsavory words were exchanged? If your honor has been slighted it will not go unmet. We can go after him if-"

Sasuke dropped his eyes to the ground. Itachi straightened, paused. His brother was highly upset, he could see that. He didn't know what was going on or why he'd jumped into the water, but right now Sasuke needed him. Somehow his brother always needed him to take care of him and keep him out of trouble. It was a responsibility he was accustomed to.

But turning, he found the coach he'd used gone. Neji stood looking at the water with his arms folded, muttering under his breath. Hinata stood behind Neji. Gaara stood awkwardly patting Sasuke's shoulder.

Gaara.

This was why one had servants. A servant was often invaluable in times of need. Itachi was profoundly grateful his brother had managed to find such a good one during his travels. He felt his uncertainties slide off of him at once as he took charge of the situation. "Gaara."

Gaara's head snapped up at the crisp tone. "Yes, sir?"

"You will go down to that boat and bring up Hinata-san's things immediately, then see about procuring us some transportation."

"Yes, sir." Gaara disappeared down the ladder.

Itachi approached Neji. "My good sir. I believe you are called Neji?"

Neji pulled his eyes away from the water with difficulty and turned to Itachi. He stared at him silently.

Itachi straightened his spine. "Why were you dismissed from the ship? It seemed to me you were trying to help my brother by sending a boat for him. What was said between my brother and the captain?"

Neji curled his lip in disgust. "I was _dismissed_ because Uzumaki Naruto is a bastard without equal."

"To be sure," Itachi nodded. "To insult his betters as he has done… well, he is gone now and good riddance. Do you know what was said-"

"Sir?" Gaara dropped the things he'd lugged up by Hinata's feet.

"Ah, yes, thank you Gaara. Here. Take this money and secure another coach for us." He handed Gaara a sheaf of bills from his money clip. "See that the money isn't stolen from you. Be quick, Sasuke may catch his death in those wet clothes."

Gaara took the money and turned fearfully to the busy street. How did one hire a coach?

Itachi went and stood by his brother. "Sasuke, speak to me. Why on earth did you make such a spectacle of yourself?"

Sasuke remained still and quiet, staring at the ground between his shoes. Itachi saw that Sasuke had lost his hat and stripped off his glove to stroke a lock of hair from his brow. Clearly his brother had received some sort of shock. "I'm here now," he told him quietly. "Everything will be all right."

-oOo-

Gaara was gone ages, but he came back with a coach and driver and jumped down. He ran to Itachi. "I'm sorry, sir! I had to use all the money and I needed to hire a driver, since I don't know how to drive a coach myself. I told the man you'd pay him when we got here."

Itachi eyed the tattered clothing of the driver and the rusty wheels on the coach. He fixed the filthy coach driver with a glare. "Oh, I think the driver will admit that his services will be given for half the money he took from you, Gaara. Even less."

The driver showed his yellow teeth in an obsequious smile. "Course, m'lord. The lad was mistaken and give me too much, see. I tried to tell 'im twas the wrong amount, but he was so sure his reckonin' was correct-"

Gaara gasped. "He's lying! That's not how it was at all, sir!" He turned pleading eyes to Itachi.

"I know he's lying," Itachi said as he went to Sasuke. "He'll be dealt with."

Sasuke allowed himself to be led to the coach, where he then climbed in on his own. Itachi reached up and yanked the skinny driver from his perch, making the man squawk in fright. He was searched until Itachi found the wad of cash he'd taken from Gaara. He peeled off a single bill and threw it at where the driver lay quivering on the ground. He then turned and ordered Gaara to ride up top. Itachi halted in the process of climbing up himself at spotting Neji, who was now answering a question his cousin had posed to him.

"Aren't you coming?" Itachi asked when he'd gone to him.

Neji narrowed his eyes. "Coming where?"

"Well with us, of course."

"Why would you help me? I'm not your concern."

"You tried to help my brother. And I have great respect for your family name, though you are a branch member. Come now, you can't stand here or keep your cousin standing here the entire night."

Neji hated accepting charity, but he did have a responsibility to Hinata. He bowed slightly. "Thank you."

Once they were inside with Sasuke, Itachi climbed up with Gaara. "Right then. Pay strict attention, Gaara. You will receive your first driving lesson."

"Me coach!" the original driver yelled as he scrambled up. Itachi ignored him.

* * *

Back at the inn, Sasuke went to the room he shared with Itachi and immediately took to his bed. Itachi paid for a room for Hinata, and saw that Gaara had a place in the stables to bed down. He turned from the innkeeper to locate Neji. He found him outside, leaning against one side of the stable doors and gazing moodily up at the sky.

"I would speak with you," Itachi began. Neji met his questioning look with a raised brow. "It would seem you are in a predicament."

Neji snorted. "I appreciate you putting Hinata up for the night, but I can't repay you."

"I thought as much. It is nothing, I assure you. I wanted to ask if you knew what could have upset my brother so much."

Neji scuffed his foot in a bit of hay. "Not my place to tell. I will say that I've come to like your brother a lot. He's a strong-minded man. I'm sure he'll come around and tell you himself."

Itachi had to content himself with that. He looked Neji over. "I trust you have other means of employment?"

"That I do," Neji confirmed. "My strong back, and these two hands."

Itachi frowned. "That… but… surely you have skills of some sort?"

"My skills are best suited to the duties of a ship, but I can learn anything. I'm adaptable."

"What did you do before you were on that ship with my brother?"

"I delivered ice."

"And before that?"

"My father and I were carpenters. The shop burned down with father in it… and before that I was apprenticed on a ship."

"I see." Itachi found this all riveting. So many trades, yet Neji appeared to be around his age. "While those all sound fascinating, you cannot think to subject your cousin to such an existence?"

Neji shrugged. "She's an exile now like me. Time she learned how changed her life really is."

Itachi was aghast. "She is nobly born! A noble cannot endure the rigors and hardships of the lower classes. Preposterous. Might I offer a solution?" He stepped closer to Neji.

He'd been scared shitless the first time he'd met Itachi, and Itachi himself had been covered in bruises, but it struck Neji now, as Itachi came closer and thus into the light of the stable lamp, that the man was extremely handsome. He folded his arms, lazily taking in the features that were a lot like Sasuke's, but with subtle differences. "Be my guest."

"I find myself in need of a manservant. I do not see why you cannot take the position, if you are as flexible as you say. With a proper set of clothing you'd cut quite a figure. You would live at Uchiha Manor and your cousin can remain as companion to my mother. I can think of no better arrangement."

Neither could Neji at the moment, though he'd been trying to do that very thing since Naruto had dumped him. He inclined his head. "My thanks."

Itachi swelled importantly. "You will begin in the morning." He turned to leave, paused. "Why was your cousin exiled?"

Neji gave a small smile. "According to her, she was exiled for indulging herself rather than following in her father's footsteps."

* * *

The next week saw Neji groomed and dressed well, and packing the Uchiha brothers' belongings in trunks. Their ship to New York would be leaving the following day. Neji had grilled Gaara briefly on what was expected of a manservant, but had taken the majority of his direction from Itachi himself. Itachi had reeled off the duties during three hours one morning and had been pleasantly surprised when Neji recalled each task perfectly. "You've an exceedingly sharp mind, Neji," Itachi said with pleasure. "I think you'll work out well."

Sasuke was another matter. He did not speak or respond to Itachi or anyone. He sat in morose silence, staring out the window at the ocean. During the voyage back to New York, and even back home at Uchiha Manor, Sasuke remained incommunicable. He ate little, spoke not at all, and slept a great deal. By the time a month had ended with no change in his behavior, Itachi became worried that his brother's mind had been somehow unhinged.

-oOo-

It was Neji who got him speaking again. The household staff was severely limited, due to Itachi's dismissals. Gaara was tending the horses one morning while Neji, operating as maid, butler and manservant for the time being, was cleaning the upstairs rooms. He knocked and entered Sasuke's room, and found him perched in a chair in front of the fireplace. As usual. Sasuke stared at the flames without seeing them, a blanket thrown over his knees.

Neji's heart went out to him. Everyday he came in here, and every day he looked just a little more lost. He set his cleaning rags and brooms aside and went to lean against the side of the mantle. He looked at Sasuke's face for a long while, before adopting his stare at the flames.

"I've known Naruto since we were kids," he said after the silence had stretched out. "He's a right pig's arse, don't get me wrong, but I understand him… which you don't. I know you're hurting. And I'm not trying to justify what he did… it's just that I know why he did it."

Sasuke merely pulled the blanket higher on his legs, putting his hands under it to warm them.

"Naruto's had a hard life," Neji continued. "We all have. He's never really been able to count on anyone but himself, though, and that's all he trusts. It's his way or no way. He doesn't usually think about compromise and alternatives. He decides on a course of actions and just bulls his way through. If he's decided that you and he can't work out, then that's pretty much it. Or so he believes. He's gotten as far as he has through his own brains and determination, and the idea of weakening himself with relationships doesn't sit well. That's just how he thinks. He has to be absolute master and commander of all things in his life. I think he fears what he can't control, which is why he's never been an overly emotional person." Neji watched the flames consume a log in a shower of sparks that swirled up the chimney.

Sasuke was looking at Neji's legs now, obviously waiting to hear more.

"Then you came along and it was obvious to all of us that you feared nothing. You gave yourself to him without a backward glance, didn't you? Neither of you knew what you were getting yourselves into, but you at least weren't afraid to leap in." Neji straightened from his position, but hesitated before taking up his rags again. "Naruto's larger than life. Strong, loyal, and certainly an ass, forgive me for saying it, but he's stupid sometimes. And blind. He needs someone to forcibly open his eyes. And he loves you, I know that much. I've never seen him give up on anything the way he gave up on you, and that can only mean he loves you more than anything; He distances himself from things that can hurt him." Neji scowled as he took up his rags once more. "Which is probably why he decided to end our friendship, too. He knew I'd brand him as the shit he is. Didn't want me bringing up his behavior and reminding him. Well, fuck him."

Itachi entered the room just then. Neji gathered his things and muttered that he'd come back later to clean. As he was passing out the door, Sasuke finally spoke. "Neji," he said. Neji and Itachi both stared at the back of his chair in shock. "Thank you." Neji nodded and left.

-oOo-

Itachi shut the door and went quickly to the fireplace, where another chair stood vacant. He pulled this chair close to Sasuke's and sat in it. "Sasuke?" he asked anxiously. "Are you feeling a bit better?"

Sasuke drew the blanket to his chin. He seemed to really think before answering, as if searching out the truth of how he felt within himself. "No. But I'm starting to feel anger instead, and that helps."

Itachi had to bow his head in relief. "I can't tell you how good it is to hear your voice and know your faculties are intact. You've scared me quite badly this past month."

Neji came back in at that moment wheeling a cart of tea and brandy. He poured tea for both men, and spiced each cup with a generous dollop of the brandy. He left afterwards, forgetting to bow, as usual. Itachi frowned at his departing back. Capable the man most definitely was, but he would have to speak to him. He handed a cup of tea to Sasuke, then took the other. He sipped.

"May I ask what happened?" Itachi asked delicately after a few quiet moments. Sasuke as yet only held his tea cup, staring at the flames again. "You seemed inordinately… distressed… at Naruto's leaving." He left the question quivering like a fragile bubble between them. Sasuke might either answer, or revert to his withdrawn silence if the question was deemed too offensive.

Amidst the crackling of the flames and the soft sound of Itachi sipping his tea, an admission was made. "…I loved him."

Itachi released the breath he'd held in a quiet exhalation. He was afraid Sasuke wouldn't answer. Sasuke sipped from his tea at last, and he took that as another good sign. "I see. As a friend, of course. As one who came to your aid in your hour of need, and protected you when you-"

"As a _man,_ Itachi." Sasuke closed his eyes and Itachi was horrified to see a tear slip free. "As a man loves… another man."

Itachi was silent so long that Sasuke finally turned his head to see what reaction his brother was displaying.

Nothing. Itachi was calmly drinking from his tea cup. He met Sasuke's eyes readily enough, without loathing or repulsion on his face. Sasuke had to ask, "What… you're not disgusted with me?"

Itachi delicately set his cup in its saucer. "I told you when I found you again that I wouldn't judge you. I never have, not with Juugo, and most certainly not now, though this must of course remain secret. Did he force you into anything, Sasuke? Tell me truly, as your brother who loves you. Did the man force you?"

Sasuke thought about it carefully. The debt he'd incurred and his response to Naruto's first kiss could not be laid at the blond's feet, though. How Naruto chose to collect was another matter, but he could have refused and stayed in any number of ports. He would have survived, he admitted now. And he could admit that he hadn't because he was used to being taken care of and had been reluctant to leave the shelter of Naruto and his ship. "No. He didn't," he said quietly. "He didn't do anything but show me how rich life could be."

Itachi waited for more, looking closely at Sasuke's face and the way the tears gathered in his eyes.

Sasuke sat there, huddled in his blanket as he tried to master the rising flood of pain in him, and failed completely. He'd been able, with a supreme effort of will, to keep his mind blank for an entire month, to protect himself from the debilitating, demoralizing and indescribably _painful_ realization that Naruto didn't love him enough to stay with him. But now that he was talking again, and after hearing Neji's explanation, the pain pushed past his control. He was too weak to fight it anymore. "I miss him," he burst out suddenly. "I miss him so that I feel as if I'm dying with each breath." He hurled his tea cup at the flames, where they leapt briefly at contact with the brandy. Sasuke buried his face in a corner of the blanket and cried at long last, letting out his grief. "Why did he turn his back on me?"

Itachi stood and had Sasuke's face pressed to his stomach in a moment, brushing the long hair with one hand and patting his back with the other. "He's beneath you, Sasuke. Not worthy of you, as he has demonstrated. Were he here I would empty my pistol into him for causing you such hurt. Come now. He is not here but I am. Shh, there-there." Itachi muttered these words awkwardly, never having been called upon to comfort his brother this way.

"I've made a fool of myself," Sasuke sobbed against him. "Are you ashamed of me?"

Itachi thought he might be disgraced by a display of tears himself. He mastered his features sternly before pulling back to cup Sasuke's wet cheeks. "I could _never_ be ashamed of you, no matter what you did. Never."

"Oh, Brother," Sasuke wept anew. "How I've missed you."

* * *

When Itachi finally left Sasuke napping he was drained. He sagged against the closed door a moment, before going in search of Neji.

Love between men. It was an idea frowned upon in the extreme here in America, but Itachi had come across references to the practice on several occasions when reading texts or books from Japan. His father had a library full of literature from the home land and in each case, the notion of love between men had been put across as not only acceptable, but commonplace. He had never really considered it or given it a thought beyond idly marveling at how two societies could be so completely different while he himself belonged to each one.

The Uchiha grounds were white with frost. February had set in with teeth and claws, and Itachi regretted leaving the house without his gloves. He crunched over the short grass, on his way to the stables.

Sasuke would be all right, he assured himself. He would see that his brother had activities to keep him occupied. They'd arrived home to find that their mother was on a trip with a female friend, apparently too furious with her sons to remain under the same roof with them. Itachi knew she'd be back when her funds ran out, at which point she would probably weep insincere tears of regret and mouth apologies for letting their father treat them the way he had. The only real emotion Itachi had ever seen her display was when Sasuke had been nearly caned to death. There was love for her sons present in her, it just didn't outweigh her love for herself and her own interests. Itachi planned to confine her to the house when she came back.

-oOo-

Touching the handle on the stable door nearly froze his hand. He entered quickly and hastily dug a kerchief out of his breast pocket to hold over his nose. Had the stables not been cleaned recently?

He heard light grunting and a rhythmic sound he could not describe. He picked his way between foul mounds of hay, noting how the horses looked at him, as he went in the direction of those sounds. He could not recall ever needing to come to the stables for anything. In fact, his last time here was the day Sasuke had been caned. He simply _had _to hire more staff, and soon. It was unthinkable that he should be reduced to hunting up his manservant when he wanted him instead of being able to just ring for him.

Itachi rounded a corner and stopped. The kerchief to his nose lowered a bit.

Neji was shirtless. The pants he wore were ill-fitting, hanging extremely low on his hips. Itachi could clearly see the beginning swell of his buttocks and a suggestion of the crevice between them. His long hair swung free, swinging against the smooth, slightly tanned ripple of his back muscles as he forked soiled hay into a wheelbarrow. This was the source of the grunting and rhythmic sounds he'd heard. Sweat glistened on Neji's back, and his whole upper body steamed faintly in the freezing air. A weak beam of sunlight streamed in from the upper story of the stables and showed Neji's hair to be a dark honey brown, with faint lighter streaks in it. It hid his face, swaying with the motion he used to move the hay.

His recent discussion with Sasuke was still on his mind, which was likely why he stared, but other than that, Itachi could not immediately remember ever seeing someone so unclothed. Other than his father and brother, of course. This was different, this was a servant. It was highly improper.

Yet the way the sweat ran in thin rivulets down the shallow hills and valleys of Neji's muscles was strangely hard to look away from. Some of the long brown hair stuck to the sweat, only to eventually slip free. The pants settled a little lower from the continued motion of pitching hay and now the crevice was more visible…Itachi had never seen another's buttocks before. Not even Karin's. The entire picture Neji presented was so overpoweringly earthy, so foreign to anything Itachi had ever experienced…so _real_, that he couldn't for the life of him remember what he'd wanted to speak to him about in the first place. He found himself contemplating his manservant as he stared at the way he moved.

Being thrown from the ship had obviously affected Neji. He wasn't as withdrawn as Sasuke had been, but he was not the boisterous, loud and argumentative person Sasuke had described at the inn in Panama either. He went around the manor in silence for the most part, performing his duties without complaint. His face was usually devoid of expression, but this was something Itachi was accustomed to in a servant. He wondered now if Neji was also hurting over this Naruto's behavior…then he scoffed at himself. It was not a lord's business to wonder about his servant's personal feelings.

He cleared his throat. Neji spun around, and Itachi was treated to a frontal view of his body. "The temperature must be in the twenties. How can you stand to be so exposed to the elements?" Itachi asked in genuine curiosity.

"It's colder out on the ocean, with nothing to impede the wind. Plus I worked up a good sweat. Don't feel so cold." Neji leaned on the pitchfork while arming sweat from his brow. He did not display the slightest shame at being in a state of undress before his employer.

Itachi ran his eyes down Neji's heaving torso. He'd never guessed that Neji was so well-built. He wasn't as large as that man Naruto, but he was larger than Itachi. Considerably so. Neji's muscles were long and lean, yet clearly defined. Itachi's eyes stopped at spotting a tuft of dark hair visible over the fly of Neji's pants. He finally looked away in shock and affront. "I seem to recall giving you clothing that fit a good deal better than what you have on," he said tightly.

"I didn't want to mess those up for this job. Found these up in the loft," Neji said, plucking at the pants. "Whoever they belonged to must have been a big man."

"And are you in the habit of performing every chore? I confined you to light household duties in addition to your normal services. Why are you out here?"

"Sort of the description of a boatswain, doing everyone's job. The last of the stable hands ran off last night. I saw that the stables needed cleaning and decided to do it. Sir," He added when Itachi's face tightened in displeasure.

That was another thing, Itachi thought. What servants he had left were apparently still loyal to Fugaku and seemed to vanish during the night. He would be better off firing everyone save Gaara and Neji, and starting from scratch. "Do I still have a cook?"

"As far as I know."

"Have her prepare lunch for Sasuke, then send her to me in the solar. Send all the remaining members of my staff to me. Then dress yourself properly and see that my best coach is made ready."

"Okay."

Itachi graced him with a stiff glare.

"I mean yes, sir."

-oOo-

Itachi waited until his skeleton staff was assembled before him that afternoon before addressing them all. "With the exception of Neji and Gaara, you're all dismissed. You will each be given one month's severance pay. Thank you for your service. That will be all. Neji, see them off my property."

When that was done, he left Sasuke in the capable hands of Gaara, and had Neji drive him into the city in search of replacement staff.

* * *

Sasuke watched the coach depart the long drive and felt a faint smile on his lips. "I love you, Itachi." It broke his heart to see his brother shouldering the responsibilities of the family alone. It was high time he got over his own woes and behaved in accordance with his station in life. After all, it was all he had now. He let the curtain fall into place and turned to find Gaara standing respectfully aside, watching him. "Gaara, dear boy. You're still with me."

"Yes, sir."

Sasuke studied the hopeful little face. It saddened him further, seeing it. "I've ignored you. Ignored the fact that you left your family to be with me. For that, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"Please, sir," Gaara choked, blinking furiously. "Please don't apologize. It's okay. I'm happy here and your brother is nice to me. I just want to be here for you."

"And so you are," Sasuke nodded. He struggled to maintain the proper detachment one should have with servants, but that detachment had never been much in evidence when it came to Gaara, and he really was too brokenhearted to try and uphold it now. He threw propriety to the winds and held his arms out wide.

Gaara gasped, hesitated in disbelief, then ran forward with a rapid thumping of his shoes on the Persian carpet. He hugged Sasuke hard around his middle and nearly swooned at feeling himself hugged strongly in return.

Sasuke, for his part, quite needed the contact for the moment. He let Gaara's simple, uncomplicated, and steadfast love for him ease some of his pain, hanging on for as long as he needed to. Itachi's acceptance and brotherly love was all well and good, but Gaara knew. He knew what had gone on, had seen with his own eyes how much Naruto had meant to him. Somehow, his presence soothed Sasuke more than Itachi's did, and he just needed to feel the sturdy boy's devotion just then. "We mustn't tell Itachi we've breached etiquette like this," he whispered once he'd pulled back. "He might have a stroke."

They each laughed, though it was somewhat strained, as they manfully tried to scrub away their tears. It was almost like being back on the ship. Almost, but not quite.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Happy Holidays!

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 19

Sasuke made an effort to reintegrate himself into life at the manor, but it was soon obvious to everyone that he was far from fine.

Itachi, though very busy, somehow always managed to find time to dine with Sasuke. He spoke to him at length of his day and of business dealings. He suggested numerous outings for Sasuke, and even saw to it that he received invitations to luncheon with some of their high-standing neighbors. Sasuke always listened quietly, or attended these functions, but he was not the same man who'd left New York.

Gaara grieved for his master, he truly did. It broke his young and tender heart to see his confident and usually fun-loving employer reduced to a silent specter in the house. He did everything possible to see that Sasuke was comfortable and his needs taken care of. Beyond that, he could do nothing.

Sasuke was aware of the worry he caused, but he could do nothing about it. It took every ounce of energy he possessed, and all of his considerable willpower, just to leave his room and eat meals with his brother and Neji's cousin. Each time he left the house, he came back in dire need of his bed, thoroughly drained from the effort of socializing. To Itachi and their acquaintances it appeared as if he was merely gloomy and depressed. Gaara and Neji knew differently.

The truth was that he was in pain. A world of pain. Everyone and everything around him, though very different from _Whirlwind_ and its crew, reminded him of Naruto and his time with him. He stumbled through the routines of his day-to-day life, and felt as if he was dragging his entrails behind him with each step. It hurt to breathe, to think, to see people laugh. Getting through each day was an exercise in torture. He woke each morning and needed long minutes, sometimes as much as an hour, to convince himself to leave his bed. Each time he did, he spent the subsequent hours of the day counting those same hours until he could retire to his room.

But even his rest was agony. The nights were truly the worst. After he'd drawn the bed curtains closed, he was free to give in to the thoughts of Naruto he religiously held at bay during the day. Thoughts of him comforted Sasuke, but tormented him even worse, if such a thing was possible.

His bed was so big and cold, even with the hot brick Gaara wrapped in a towel and placed between the sheets. Sasuke longed, with crushing intensity, for the warm, brawny body to sleep beside him. He missed that. He missed Naruto's smell, and the texture of his skin. He missed the lazy smile that always, without fail, presaged a draining round of lovemaking. He missed his voice, the way he would utter Sasuke's name in a guttural groan of pleasure.

He wanted to fall asleep smothered in that solid heat, and wake up to passionate kisses and possessive hands. These were the times he clutched his pillow to his face and swore he could feel the rocking sway of the ship. He would writhe and curse in longing, his body screaming for Naruto's touch… and then his own hands would move down beneath the sheets, searching for his weeping length and hot, quivering hole. His hands would work busily, his lip caught between his teeth in shame, until he found some measure of relief, however brief. But it was never enough. And once it was over, it proved to be nothing more than a poor, pathetic substitute for what he wanted… no, for who he _needed._ And then he would hate himself for needing someone who'd left him so heartlessly. Nights were when he suffered the most.

By day he would force himself to get up and interact with his brother as if he was truly fine and beginning to mend.

* * *

The slow passage of winter to spring, and then spring to summer, did see Sasuke gradually improving. His smiles appeared less forced, his laughter seemed more genuine. He accompanied Itachi on business trips, or else was sent in Itachi's place to conduct business in the Uchiha name. Their wealth doubled, then tripled. It seemed, on the surface anyway, that the recent domestic upheavals in Uchiha Manor had been successfully weathered. Life appeared to be moving along smoothly now.

An evening came, when summer was drawing to a close, when Sasuke was dining with Itachi in his older brother's sitting room. He looked around at the upholstered antique furniture, the wall lamps, the hand-woven carpet. The drinks cart, with its decanters of brandy and good wine, caught and refracted the mellow light in the room. The overturned brandy glasses set on brilliantly white linen gleamed. The China and silverware in front of him seemed to glow with their own light. His brother sat across from him, dressed formally for dinner, and Sasuke knew then that he was the only blight in the room, the only dark spot.

Gaara was serving them that evening. He filled their plates, poured for them, and left. Itachi did not immediately lift his silverware to eat, but hesitated this time. He looked at Sasuke's lowered face in concern and felt his insides twist. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke lifted his eyes. They shimmered with unshed tears. "It's not working. I've tried so hard to forget and move on, but it isn't working."

Itachi sighed quietly. "I know. I can see it, though you put on a brave face. Your sadness breaks my heart."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to taint your own happiness-"

"Hush. You could never do such a thing, never be anything but the most important person in my life." Itachi fingered his linen napkin beside his steaming plate, frowning. "If anything, I'm the one who's caused you unhappiness."

Sasuke reached across their small round table. He took hold of his brother's hand where it worried his napkin. "Oh, Itachi. How could you think that? Nothing could be farther from the truth."

"Are you so sure?" Itachi searched Sasuke's wet eyes, before looking back at his filet mignon. "If I hadn't come for you, you would still be on a ship with Naruto. I'm the cause of-"

"Stop it," Sasuke said sternly. "Stop it right there. You are not to blame for anything, do you understand me? And I am not sorry, not for a _moment_, that I have my brother back from the dead. I wouldn't trade your life for a relationship with him for anything."

Itachi noticed how Naruto's name wasn't spoken. Just as he noticed the quick way Sasuke lowered his eyes, now dry again. "But?"

Sasuke now toyed fretfully with his own napkin, folding and unfolding one corner of it. "But I miss him," he whispered. "I miss him so much that my bowels turn to water whenever I pass the docks, and my mouth feels dry whenever I see blue eyes. My nights are torture and my days are agony, and no matter how hard I try, or how desperately I pray, I cannot purge his face from my mind. I hate him. I hate him with all the strength in my body, yet I love him even more. And somewhere in between the love and the hate I am torn and bleeding and unable to recover."

Itachi lowered the hand he'd used to cover his mouth in shock. Sasuke had never spoken of his feelings for the captain, not outside that one night in February. He'd sensed his brother's inability to speak of painful memories and left it at that. He'd had no idea Sasuke's feelings for the man had run so deeply, or that he was in so much pain, even all these months later. He'd known he was in _some_ pain, yes, but nothing like this. Never this. He'd never heard of anyone feeling anything remotely like this, and he wondered why his brother felt so strongly. His eyes widened as a thought came to him. "Sasuke… did you _lay _with the captain?"

Sasuke looked up at his brother's wide eyes, at the way he held himself with stiff expectancy, and considered telling him that he'd _fucked_ with the captain like a rutting beast. "Yes," he said simply instead. "I thought you knew that. When you asked me before if he'd forced me to anything, I thought you'd known."

Itachi was clearly flustered, he could see. It was amusing to see him lower his eyes to his plate and hastily begin cutting his meat. That helped lessen the ache in his chest, and he smiled a small smile, reaching for his brandy.

-oOo-

Neji came in some time later to clear their dinner things, and saw that they weren't finished. Sasuke saw the way Neji looked at his brother before he left, and stared thoughtfully at the closed door. The look had been brief… but he'd seen that kind of look before. On Naruto. Before they'd kissed that first time, before the terms of the deal had been brought to light.

Sometimes, after they'd become intimate, Sasuke would lay awake in Naruto's arms, listening to his snores, and think back to his early days on the ship. He remembered those looks, those furtive glances and watchful stares. Naruto had probably thought Sasuke was unaware of them. He hadn't been, he just hadn't known what they'd meant. After, once he'd become acquainted with Naruto's touch, and lived with him for endless hours in that cabin, he'd seen the looks Naruto sometimes gave him and known their meaning at last.

Hunger. Powerful, needy hunger. The hunger one man felt for another.

Bemused now, and in not a little shock, Sasuke replayed the look Neji had given Itachi in his mind.

Neji had come in, come to the table, and asked if they'd like more time, seeing as they were still eating. Itachi had nodded absently, obviously still thinking of Sasuke's words. Neji had said very well, turned, and made for the door. There, he'd turned his head and given a brief, concentrated look of smoldering lust over his shoulder, a wholly improper look, before turning again and leaving the room.

The entire event had been so brief that Sasuke almost hadn't seen it. If he hadn't happened to look up at the precise moment Neji was leaving the room he would have missed it. He looked back at his brother, who was eating calmly and neatly. Sasuke had needed to recall his manners and upbringing once he'd returned to Uchiha Manor, but he too now ate with his knife and fork, instead of with his hands as he'd done in Naruto's cabin.

The quiet clanking of their silverware on their plates filled the silence between them.

"Itachi," he said after a few moments. "I hope this new knowledge of my relationship with Naruto won't come between us?"

Itachi covered his mouth with one corner of his napkin as he spoke. "Why would it?"

"You seemed surprised." Sasuke watched him carefully, intent on steering the conversation in a certain direction, and wanting to know his brother's thoughts before he did so. This distraction of Neji and his possible feelings was just what he'd needed to take his mind off his troubles.

"I was a bit, yes." Itachi swallowed, sipped from his brandy, and resumed eating. "I'd thought you and the captain had been in love, perhaps exchanged confidences, maybe a kiss…. I'm not upset, Sasuke, if that's what you're thinking. I have come across literature from Japan that spoke of these practices. I just wasn't aware of how far you'd gone with Naruto."

Sasuke filed his brother's apparent neutrality on the subject of sodomy away. "You know more than I did, then. Were the tales explicit?"

"Explicit? No, I can't say that they were. Most everything was expressed in metaphor, at any rate. Feelings and passions were mainly discussed."

"I see. Itachi, would you mind if I asked you a personal question?"

"Of course not. You may ask me anything." He looked at Sasuke as he forked a bite of steamed vegetables into his mouth.

"What was your relationship with Karin like?"

Itachi finished chewing before answering, holding Sasuke's curious gaze with his own. Mystified, he sat back and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'm not sure what you mean. She and I got on smoothly, if that's what you're asking. She obeyed me correctly in all things."

"No, I mean… well, I recall you telling me once or twice of how dissatisfied you were with your marriage bed."

"Ah." Itachi's brow cleared, as he reached for the bell on the dinner cart. He held off from ringing it just yet. "As I understand it, most men are dissatisfied with their marriage bed. It's why just about everyone I know has a mistress."

"Did you feel the need for one?"

"Not especially."

"Even though Karin didn't satisfy you?"

"Even so. I cannot say the fault was hers, really. I never cultivated great feelings for her, and only lay with her to get her with child. Once I'd succeeded, I left her alone, for which she was grateful."

This was news to Sasuke. He found himself fully engaged and absorbed in a conversation, without having to pretend to be so, for the first time since Naruto had left him. "Did you then turn to whores to satisfy your needs?"

Itachi had the grace to blush. "I haven't had a whore since our trip to Europe. I find them to be completely distasteful creatures."

This Sasuke could understand. He himself had seldom felt the need for one since that trip. It would seem that he and his brother led sexless lives. Still… "Do you never have… urges?"

"Once in awhile," Itachi said slowly, frowning at his brother. "They are easy to ignore. Why this sudden curiosity?"

Sasuke shrugged, ducking his head. "Ever since Naruto, I can't seem to stop wanting…" He looked up sharply at his brother's intent face.

Itachi blinked a few times. "Was it enjoyable?" he asked uncertainly. "Laying with him?"

Sasuke looked aside. "I honestly don't know if there is a word capable of describing how it felt. It was beyond enjoyable, Itachi. If it is possible to die from pleasure then I died on that ship. Died a thousand deaths, and I would do it all again… if he wanted me. But he doesn't, does he." Sasuke listlessly twisted his fork, blinking hard. His mouth was a grim line.

Itachi watched his brother master his emotions, thoughtful. "I can't say I've ever felt that way. Nor can I imagine it."

"You've never been in love," Sasuke explained. "Nor was I, when Naruto first touched me. But he's someone I've needed in my life. I needed someone to save me from the restrictions I lived with. I was able to discover my true self, my courage and strengths with him, Itachi. And I think you need someone in your life."

Itachi shook his head slightly, returning to the present. Sasuke's words called up fantastical thoughts and images that had no place in the real world he lived in. He laughed with difficulty. "I always knew you were dissatisfied with your life, and I'm thankful you found a bit of happiness, but Father is gone now, probably murdered. There's no need for you to feel restricted anymore." Itachi rang the bell at last, signaling that they were done with dinner. "And I certainly have no time for the type of dalliance you describe."

Neji, probably stationed down the hall, entered the room after hearing the bell. Sasuke reached across the table once more to take Itachi's hand and said for his brother's benefit, as well as Neji's, "Everyone should have love, Itachi. You especially. I'm only asking you to keep yourself open to it. It might be closer than you think."

Sasuke was careful not to look at Neji directly, but he saw the hidden glance he gave Itachi. He smiled inwardly, deciding a talk with the Hyuuga was in order.

-oOo-

Itachi stirred sugar into the tea Neji had poured, now sitting in front of the fireplace with Sasuke in a chair to his left. "Who did you have in mind?" he asked after several sips. "Not Hinata?"

Sasuke burned himself as he laughed unexpectedly. "Hinata? She's still with us then?"

Neji's cousin was almost nonexistent in the manor. She'd stopped dining with them months ago, preferring to keep to her room, or read in the library. Sometimes she could be seen strolling through the extensive grounds, stubbornly wearing her Japanese clothing in defiance of American customs. Whatever her pursuits, they were always done alone and in silence. She was rarely seen, and the existence of an unchaperoned female in the bachelor estate of Uchiha Manor was little more than a rumor.

Neji had tried to explain that as Hinata was living off of them, she probably felt dishonored, and so did not want to force the brothers to look at her. She felt unworthy, Neji explained awkwardly. "Or so I imagine," he'd said. "I can't really know what goes on in that head of hers since she doesn't exactly speak to me either."

"No, not Hinata," Sasuke managed, dabbing at his burned lips.

"Who?"

"I'm not suggesting you get married, Itachi. I'm merely saying that love comes from unexpected places. For instance… have you considered a man? Like in those Japanese tales?"

Sasuke felt his hand shake slightly at the way Itachi slowly turned his head to stare at him. He hastily averted his gaze to look into the fire, trying to sip as if nothing were amiss. Itachi was a long time answering, but he did say at length, "No. I hadn't."

"Are you against the idea?" Sasuke risked asking.

"I don't see how I, living in this particular society, could hope to come across a man willing to engage in love, even if I were open to such an idea."

"I did. So you are against it then?"

Itachi looked into his tea. A few leaves swirled in the pale green depths. It would seem his brother had undergone quite a change while he'd been on that ship. He would swear Sasuke would have called out anyone who would have dared put the question to him before he'd left New York. Now here he sat, blithely asking his own brother if he was opposed to the notion of sodomy. "I can't say that I care one way or the other, personally. I am, however, fully aware of how the practice is viewed, Sasuke. Why do you care what I think so much? I told you I don't judge you or deem you less of a man because of your feelings for Naruto."

"I know," Sasuke said, looking at him again. "I just wanted to make sure that should love appear, you would be open to accepting it, no matter what form it took."

"I see. I will consider it, Sasuke, and that is the best I can do. I must say, you haven't spoken this much, or been this lively since-" he stopped there, not wanting to bring up painful memories. He saw his brother smile faintly, sadly, in understanding and offered a small smile of his own.

Sasuke let nearly thirty minutes slip by in companionable silence as they finished the pot of tea. Neither he nor Itachi smoked, as many did after their tea, but Neji did come and ask if there was anything else they needed. Sasuke watched him with interest. Staring as he was, he was able, this time, to catch the slight tremor in Neji's hand as he took Itachi's teacup from beside his elbow and put it on the cart. The dishes even clattered faintly as he set them down, to which Itachi frowned. Neji left, wheeling the cart in front of him, and Sasuke at last brought up the topic he'd been heading towards for the better part of the evening.

"What do you think of Neji," he asked casually.

Itachi unbuttoned his dinner jacket. Unlike Sasuke, he made full use of his manservant in that he had Neji dress and undress him in the mornings and evenings, and even had the man shave him and brush his hair. He sighed now, as he leaned back in the plush armchair. "He is superb at carrying out his duties. He never needs to be told a thing twice, and his memory is without equal. I can mention an engagement that is to take place six weeks from now, and on the appointed day he will have my clothes ready and the coach waiting without a single reminder from me in the interim."

"I sense there is a 'but'?" Sasuke crossed his legs and rested his chin on a hand, leaning toward Itachi.

"But," Itachi nodded. "But there are little things, minor occurrences really, that keep his performance from being completely above reproach."

"Enlighten me. I find this very interesting."

"You always were strange," Itachi said, suddenly tired. He'd had a long, exhausting day. "Very well, if you insist. He refuses to address me properly."

"Refuses?" Sasuke was skeptical. Itachi did not tolerate disobedience.

"Well, no, not refuses. He forgets, sometimes. And when he does say it, it sounds… forced. Gaara, one can tell, is happy to serve you. Pleasing you and performing in an exemplary manner makes him happy, as should be the case with any proper servant. Gaara's manners are commendable. As for Neji… I cannot help but think that he's merely performing a job."

"Don't all servants?"

"Yes… and no. That is to say, when you were unable to pay Gaara, the boy stuck by you anyway. Through devotion to you and his desire to honestly please you. There was loyalty there. A true servant remains at his master's side through good times and bad. I feel that if I were to fall on hard times, Neji would look for employment elsewhere, and quickly. He is not a _true _servant. The way he speaks to me, as if with an equal, and how he looks at me directly, in my eyes, and how he sometimes touches me without permission-"

Sasuke held up a hand, eyes wide with shock and keen concentration. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? Did you say he _touches _you?" He had to bite his tongue to keep from grinning inappropriately. "How?"

Itachi frowned at the fireplace, thinking. "Once, when he was brushing my hair, he put his hand on my shoulder. And there have been times when he has touched my hand… but they were stray occurrences, nothing I need feel upset over. I only meant that as a whole, taken together, his performance falls just a tad short. He needs to be more submissive. And besides all that, I don't think he likes working for me, anyway. He's much quieter than he used to be. More reserved. As if he's suffering in this house."

Sasuke turned his head away, and discreetly wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. Here he was admonishing his brother to be open to love, and not a moment too soon. It seemed love, or lust at any rate, was stalking him in his very home. "Can you really fault him?" he said when he could speak. "He's never been a servant before. I would imagine it takes some getting used to."

"Gaara adapted right away, you told me."

"Gaara is young and exceptional. Neji, for all intents and purposes, had the command of an entire ship whenever Naruto wasn't on deck, and is accustomed to being in charge. I don't think he has a subservient bone in his body." When Itachi frowned in response, he went on. "Perhaps you should have a talk with him?"

"Perhaps," Itachi agreed slowly. "You're absolutely right, I should be firm with him. I've been so busy, and he does so well otherwise, that I've overlooked his shortcomings. But if I am paying for a service, then I must have the very finest service, and I will tell him so."

"You know best," Sasuke said with a smirk. What he wouldn't give to be present during that talk.

* * *

Itachi bade his brother good night, and watched him leave in search of his own rooms. It was late, and he was tired to the bone; he and Sasuke had spoken for hours more, both enjoying Sasuke's suddenly improved mood. At the start of the evening he'd noticed his brother was as quietly despondent as he always was, but midway through their meal he'd undergone a change. Whatever the cause, Itachi was grateful. He was loathe to see the evening end, consenting for Neji to eventually bring them more tea in order to prolong it. And he had to admit, the subject matter of their conversation tonight had been riveting. It was undeniably base and common talk, but wholly captivating just the same. He wondered what it was like to do and feel the things Sasuke had during his travels as he rang for Neji to come and ready him for bed.

He decided to wait until after Neji had performed this nightly task before speaking to him. His night clothes were already laid out on the bed. Neji came to him and proceeded to undress him.

For some reason, Neji always gave an inordinate amount of attention to dressing or undressing him. Itachi noted this, and compared it to the impartial way his past servants had performed this same duty. He was glad of Neji's solicitous manner, but it always left him feeling slightly… well, perturbed. The way Neji leisurely slid his dinner jacket off his arms, how he came around him to undo his cravat, all seemed to throb with an undercurrent of something Itachi could never name.

Case in point, Neji stood entirely too close whenever undressing him. Itachi could actually feel his breath where it blew down gently from his greater height. It smelled of cinnamon and cloves, likely from the dessert served this evening. Just now, Neji's fingers brushed his neck as he unknotted the cravat, and the man didn't even have the decency to apologize. Suddenly fed up, Itachi stepped back, leaving his cravat to hang down either side of his open shirt. "Enough," he bit out.

Neji, whose hands were still raised from untying the cravat, slowly lowered them. "Did I do something wrong?"

Itachi was breathing heavily, suddenly agitated and angry. "Let me counter with a question of my own. Why do you not simply tender your resignation if working as my servant goes against your grain so strongly?"

"What?"

Itachi's lips tightened in rage at this further disrespect. "Even now, you neglect to address me correctly. As intelligent as you are, one would think you'd remember that tiny detail. You seem to remember everything else, down to facts and dates that even I manage to forget. Tell me, Neji, and speak truly. You do not, in fact, want to please me, do you?"

Neji's eyes had been on his during this tirade. They dropped slowly now, taking in Itachi's neck, his chest, his stomach, and finally his hips. He looked long and hard at Itachi's lean, compact body. When he met his stern gaze again, he did indeed speak the truth. "Yes… _sir._ I want to please you." He took a step closer to Itachi, unable to raise his voice or make it firmer due to the constriction in his throat. "I want to please you very much."

Itachi was somewhat mollified at the obvious sincerity in the words. Neji's eyes were a little too direct on his face for comfort, but no matter. It was as Sasuke said, and the man was simply used to command. Which brought him to another point. "Very well. Beginning tomorrow, you will be my personal assistant and secretary. I will have Gaara tend to my physical needs along with Sasuke's from now on. You will of course be given an adjustment in pay. That will be all, Neji."

Neji blinked, but turned to leave without another word. Once outside the closed door, he looked left and right. He was alone, the other servants having retired. He took the time to adjust his painful cock with a quick, added squeeze for good measure. Had he known signing on to work for Itachi would bring him such hell, he would have jumped in the ocean as Sasuke had done and swum after _Destiny_, too.

* * *

Naruto was also becoming intimately acquainted with the wonders of hell on earth. He wallowed in it, bathed in it, ate it, drank it, breathed it and slept in its thorny embrace.

His crew, through their association with him and the close quarters of the ship, were made to witness his decline. On to Africa they had gone, where Naruto, operating like one drugged on opiates, managed to establish a branch of Kakashi's business. He dropped off cargo, picked up more, and then moved on to the next stop once that one was concluded. All in all, they were gone six months, hopping here and there along Africa's coast. Kakashi had told them to come on back to Panama for another assignment and here they were in the middle of the Atlantic and making good time.

But Naruto wasn't doing so well.

-oOo-

Lee came up to Shikamaru, who was standing behind Chouji, who had the wheel. He watched Shikamaru updating the logs, hoping he wouldn't actually have to say it. Shikamaru, however, deliberately ignored him. "It's your turn," Lee said tightly.

"I went last time," Shikamaru hedged.

"Shino went last time, and won't be going again thanks to the broken arm Naruto gave him," Chouji said without turning around.

Shikamaru hunched his shoulders. "I went before Shino, I meant."

"_I_ went before Shino," Lee reminded him. "And Chouji went before me, and Kankurou before Chouji. It's your turn. Suck it up like a man."

Shikamaru threw down the logs and snatched the plate of food Lee held out. He marched down to the captain's cabin, cursing and blustering, trying to work up a good bout of courage. Once at the door, though, he promptly lost his nerve. The only reason he and the others had this chore at all was because the petty officers were all too terrified of Naruto now to do it. Bracing himself, Shikamaru knocked once before cautiously turning the handle on the door. "Naruto? Dinner…"

The cabin was dark. It was always dark now. It stank as if it was inhabited by some wild animal, which actually wasn't far from the truth. It was a lot larger than his cabin on _Whirlwind _had been, but there was a chair here too, and Naruto sat in it. He was leaning back, with one hand covering the lower part of his face, and the other tucked under his elbow. There used to be a desk as well, but that piece of furniture now stood on its end across the room.

What little light there was from the moon outside the window, or from the door Shikamaru had left open, seemed to gather in Naruto's eyes. The blue orbs glittered unblinkingly, watching Shikamaru as a stalking predator watched its prey. Naruto's abnormally lambent eyes followed Shikamaru's movements, shifting fractionally with him, never blinking or deviating. Shikamaru, shaking like a leaf, also made sure to keep his eyes on Naruto; at the very first sign of movement, he would drop that plate and run like hell.

But he made it to the chair unharmed. He slowly stretched out his hands with the plate on them, and set it down gently, carefully, and above all _quietly_, on the floor in front of Naruto's feet. Just as carefully, he drew his hands back, straightened up, and began backing away. Under no circumstances would it have been wise to turn his back on Naruto. He kept his eyes on his silent captain and continued backing away until he was standing in the doorway. Still careful not to exhibit any sudden movements, Shikamaru groped for the door handle and slowly but quietly pulled it shut. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, and that was when he was twenty feet away from the door on the other side. His stomach muscles loosened so that a tiny, warm trickle of urine leaked into his underwear.

Up until Shino's turn, everyone had accepted Naruto's stony fury in silence. The man had gone completely mad once they'd left Panama. It was a madness that didn't speak, didn't imbibe, and did not sleep more than a couple of hours a week. Everyone had known to leave him the hell alone, and so they had. Naruto conducted business in Africa in a brusque manner once he'd gotten over his initial grief; there had been no need to mention what had occurred in Panama. Especially since they were in their last port at the time, two days from heading back there.

Unwisely, Shino had gotten the idea to attempt talking to him, to maybe help him mend from losing Sasuke. He had tried to offer a few words of comfort to Naruto while delivering his dinner one evening. Shino had been rewarded with the Captain flying into a titanic rage, and picking up his desk. He'd thrown the huge thing at Shino, who hadn't quite managed to duck out of the room in time, hence his broken arm. The desk had dented the door so badly that it had been unable to close; it had needed to be replaced.

That desk had been bolted to the floor. Bolted. No sane man could have wrenched it free, no matter how strong. No one else dared speak to Naruto about anything else after that, and they most definitely did _not _say Sasuke's name, as Shino had done.

* * *

Once in Panama, the petty officers on _Destiny _immediately petitioned Kakashi to be assigned to another ship, any other ship. Kakashi, understandably confused, made his way to _Destiny _and his former apprentice once he'd heard of the things that had gone on. He found the specialized crew sitting pensively on the main deck. "Is it true?" he asked quietly. "Has he run mad?"

Chouji answered. "I suppose so. He's been different since he left Panama."

"Different how?" Kakashi sat with them.

"Extremely violent to anyone who approaches him, and extremely withdrawn when left alone. All he does is stare at the wall. You can tell he's tensed to the breaking point, that he's holding a lot inside, but he won't let anyone near him accept to bring him food." Chouji shook his head.

"I see," Kakashi murmured. "Would this by any chance have anything to do with the spectacle I heard took place on these very docks with one of the Uchiha brothers? Sasuke, I think it was, right?"

_"Shhhhh!"_ the crew chorused. They sent fearful looks towards the captain's cabin.

"Yes," Shino said finally. "It has everything to do with him."

Kakashi nodded. "Well, I can't say that he and I are particularly close anymore or I would have a word with him. It sounds like he won't listen to me, though. He's obviously in no condition to work, so whoever does talk to him needs to tell him that unless he shapes up soon he's out of a job." Kakashi stood to go. "Best of luck. Keep me informed."

They watched him leave. Shikamaru sucked his teeth. "The only one who would have been able to knock some sense into him was Neji. Naruto never could take him, never even tried. And Neji had the guts to tell Naruto to his face whenever he was acting like an ass."

"Still can't believe he sucker punched him and dumped him ashore," Kankurou said somberly. "Neji was his oldest and dearest friend."

"I guess we should head ashore ourselves," Chouji said as he stood. "_Destiny_'s not going anywhere for awhile, and I got money to spend. A fine Panamanian whore sounds just right."

The rest of them agreed and stood to join him. Shikamaru hesitated at seeing the shy smile Temari gave him. He held out an arm to her questioningly and she took it, blushing becomingly. Shikamaru looked back at where Lee hadn't moved. "You coming?"

"In a moment. You go on ahead." Once Shikamaru and Temari were gone, he took a deep breath and made his way down to the Captain's cabin.

-oOo-

He didn't knock. He simply opened the door and walked right in. He remained at the door, leaning against it, deciding that it would be prudent to keep a certain amount of distance between himself and Naruto.

The man was a mess. His hair hadn't been cut since Japan, and was gathered in a ratty tail. He'd lost a lot of weight so that he was gaunt and skeletal-looking. He still sat in his chair. He glanced toward Lee with a look that managed to be both haunting and murderous.

Lee was a forthright, no-nonsense, practical kind of person; he got right to the point. "Look, I know I'm not Neji, but I feel like I've known you long enough to butt in. For instance, I know that you're not the type of guy to let something get the best of you. You're not someone who gives up or takes life's lickings without a fight. So all this-" Lee waved a hand in Naruto's direction, gesturing to his appearance and foul mood, "isn't you.

"Maybe you got hurt and lost, but that's why you have friends, Naruto. We want to help you. You should let us. We care about you. Neji, I know, loved you like a brother. What you did to him was wrong. And what you did to Sasuke was wrong. The Naruto I know wouldn't have given up something he loved so easily, and he definitely wouldn't be wallowing in grief or regret or whatever this is the way you are." Naruto pinned Lee with a warning stare at mention of Sasuke's name, but Lee held his ground… though he did reach behind his back to put his hand on the door handle. Just in case he needed to make a hasty exit. "All I'm saying," Lee concluded, "is that if you miss him this much, go after him. Stop making our lives miserable. And stop taking your self-pity out on us. We're all you got left now."

"Are you done?" Naruto asked in a voice raspy with disuse.

Lee nodded. "Yeah. Just-"

"Then get the fuck out before I kill you."

Lee blinked. "Okay, all joking and concern aside, did you really just threaten to kill me? Are you serious?"

Naruto turned his head to give Lee a direct glare. "I'm dead serious. If I have to look at you or listen to you for another minute, I will get up and stave your head in with a leg from this very chair."

Lee stared for a few blank seconds. A soft, mirthless chuckle left him. "You know what? I'm through being your friend. And I'm through with you. I hope Sasuke finds you and puts a bullet between your eyes."

Lee did leave quickly after that. He closed the cabin door behind himself with a sigh of relief, actually sagging against the thing. Naruto might have killed him for that last bit there. Then he remembered that he hadn't warned Naruto that his job was in jeopardy like Kakashi had told him to. It really made no difference, though, since he didn't plan on working for Naruto anymore. He went up to the main deck and left the ship.

* * *

Naruto heard his footsteps leaving and turned back to stare out the window. He could see the orange-golden light of impending sunset and was helplessly reminded of when he'd left Panama… but then those thoughts never left his mind anyway.

-oOo-

_He'd been standing on deck, arms folded to keep his wrenching pain from spilling his guts out. That was how horrible he'd felt. He'd heard the distant splash, the faint shouts of his name. Sasuke wanted him. Had chosen him. But by then he'd already made up his mind that with Itachi back things would be different, too different, and it was better to just let him go. So he'd ignored him. The sound of his name had ripped the heart right out of his chest, making him unable to breathe, but he'd left Sasuke in the water._

_And when Neji had tried to go against him, he'd hurt his best friend and gotten rid of him, putting another hole through his guts. He'd had to lock himself in his cabin or he would have jumped overboard and taken Sasuke. The entire time he was in his cabin, he'd pressed himself to the door, one fist on the handle, and fought the powerful urge to go up to the main deck and have Chouji turn the ship around. _

_"I can still go back," he'd whispered to himself. Then, "No, it's too late." He'd alternated between these two certainties, whispering both over and over to himself until Shikamaru dutifully came down and told him that land was out of sight. He decided then that it was too late to go back and finally sank to the cabin floor._

_It really was better this way, he told himself. Sasuke had a life with his brother, and Naruto had a life at sea. Even if Sasuke had chosen him, his brother probably wouldn't have gone for that, and Sasuke would take his thoughts into consideration. He'd said on more than one occasion that he would do anything for his brother, that he and his brother were extremely close. Better, much better, to make a clean break. _

_But he kept hearing that splash and the way Sasuke had called to him._

-oOo-

He heard it every minute of every hour, without pause. His friends liked to think he'd gone mad, and maybe he had for a little while. From the time Shikamaru told him land was out of sight until the time he was told, through his door, that Africa was on the horizon he remembered nothing. He'd sunk into a dream of memories of his time with Sasuke that had felt like nothing more than a few hours. He knew the voyage had taken at least two weeks. All that time was just… blank. He obviously hadn't died during that time, so he must have eaten at some point, but he couldn't remember anything.

But he wasn't mad. Not crazy, anyway. He was mad as in angry, furious, and it took everything he had not to go on a killing spree. He'd gotten over his hurt… no. More like his hurt had _transformed_. It had given way to a black maelstrom of fury at the hand he'd been dealt, self-hatred at his weakness in letting Sasuke go and then being too afraid to take him back, and disgust at his certain belief that Sasuke was now too angry with him to forgive him, even if he did screw up the courage to seek him out.

As God was his witness, he wanted nothing more than to apologize and have Sasuke forgive him. Naruto had pushed him out of his life only because he'd been hurt. It was his way, to distance himself from emotional entanglements. It was how he lived: strike before you were struck down. The rest of what he'd told himself –Itachi's presence, Sasuke's life and how different it was from Naruto's- that was all surface bullshit. The real reason was that he'd been hurt and angry. And so he'd let Sasuke go. He'd figured it would save him more pain in the long run, but all he'd done was make it worse. He loved Sasuke. He wanted him. And if he thought he'd be forgiven, he'd approach him in a heart beat.

_So are you afraid of his rejection? _A voice spoke up in his mind. The voice sounded remarkably like Neji. _Because that would be exactly what you deserved after leaving him the way you did, you piece of shit._

_He probably hates me, _Naruto thought.

_He loved you._

_But I hurt him. I left him. _

_And he hurt and left you, or so you thought. Yet here you are forgiving him. Don't you think he's capable of the same? Don't you think he's just as miserable right now?_

_What if he doesn't want me anymore? He's got so much… I have nothing to offer but myself._

_So it's true. You are afraid. And here I was under the impression that Uzumaki Naruto was the kind of man to go after what he wanted._

Naruto looked up at the mirror bolted to the far fall and studied his reflection, really studied it, for the first time in months. What he saw made him want to cry and swear at the same time. "That's not me," he hissed. But he saw his lips move. Then he sneered.

This was what became of people stupid enough to fall in love, he thought. And this was why he'd tried to avoid it. Look what he'd been reduced to. Standing, he lurched haltingly to the mirror and stood nose to nose with himself.

He studied his reflection for a long time.

"I'm done hiding. And I'm done wallowing. I _am _Uzumaki Naruto. Maybe I'm weak, and stupid, and currently contemptible, but I own up to my mistakes." He leaned closer to the mirror, filling his vision with his own blue eyes, challenging himself. "I _do _go after what I want."

And what he wanted, he decided as he stalked to his door and yanked it open, was one Uchiha Sasuke.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Happy New Year!^^

First off let me say this chap went through 17 revisions before I felt I had it right. It was exceedingly difficult to write, just because I wanted to accurately portray nuances and the skewed perceptions people go through when shit is happening to them. I hope I did all right. I think I did the best that I could. That said, I sincerely hope this chap doesn't disappoint.

And yay! Another fic complete!

Beta: Blood Zephyr

* * *

Chapter 20

Mid-December saw Itachi frowning down at a guest list in his den. Snow fell heavily outside. The windowsills were coated with it, and a roaring fire blazed in the hearth. He dipped the steel nib of his pen in the pot of ink on his desk and thoughtfully scratched out a name.

Sasuke came in, his cheeks rosy no doubt from his romp in the snow with Gaara. Itachi glanced up at him briefly. He gestured to the sheet of paper in front of him. "The Haruno family will feel slighted if we don't invite them, but the shame and scandal of having them there after last year's offense will be too much, wouldn't you say?"

"How did they even make the list? Of course they can't be invited."

Itachi drew his lap robe higher on his knees. "Neji made this list. I don't think he knows of our history with that family."

Sasuke opted to leave his scarf on. The manor was drafty in winter, and he was still frozen from the snowball fight he'd just had. He walked to the hearth and groaned in bliss, warming his hands before the flames. "Where is your trusty assistant, might I ask?"

"You seem to ask me about him a lot," Itachi replied absently. He gave a satisfied nod at the list and set it aside. He leaned back in his chair to look at Sasuke. "I would assume he's off assisting me, as instructed."

"Where did you send him this time?"

"Boston. He should be back before the gala." He studied the way Sasuke wrung melted snow from his hair. "You've let it grow."

Sasuke smiled. His smiles were real now, whatever hurt he'd felt over his break with Naruto either mastered or well-hidden. "Yes. A certain older brother was my inspiration. Have you thought of bringing anyone?"

Itachi fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I've told you. I'm not interested in any of your matchmaking. It's merely our annual Christmas gala, not an opportunity for me to find a wife."

"You're the biggest catch of the new century, Itachi. Your widowed status only lends a tragically romantic air to your devilish good looks… or so I overheard in the park last week from a pair of tittering debutantes."

"And _I_ heard that the Yamanaka chit has set her sights on you, the second biggest catch of the new century," Itachi shot back in smooth retaliation. "Whatever shall we do?"

"Touché."

Itachi thought for a moment, tilting his head. "This will be your first major event since you've been back. Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I'm fine, Itachi." It was his standard reply to these daily questions. His brother usually left it at that. Not this time, though.

"Sasuke, be honest with me. I worry about you. How are you… really?"

Sasuke sighed, turning back to the fire. Itachi could be very persistent when he wanted something. "I should never have told you how much I was hurting. You treat me now as if I'm some languishing maid who's lost her love at sea…" He stopped at the accuracy of the analogy. All he really lacked were old love letters to weep over, he thought wryly. He managed a convincing shrug. "As well as can be expected, I suppose." The logs burned brightly red, deep in the yellow flames. He resisted the maudlin urge to compare the flames to anyone's hair, or the surrounding embers to feelings he suppressed with ruthless determination. "I don't guess I'm over it –him- completely, but I've resumed living."

"I've noticed," Itachi murmured. He'd also noticed how his brother still seemed unable to eat a proper meal, and how he had the habit of staying completely away from the docks now. As much as three times a week Sasuke sought him out to engage in sparring, an activity that had thickened Sasuke's body considerably. He'd put on a good twenty pounds of lean muscle. Itachi held his own against him only through iron determination; there was a wealth of rage behind Sasuke's blows.

He did not interfere with Sasuke's self-delusion that he was fine. If this was the only way his brother could cope, then he would abide by the unspoken rule of never bringing up the past. After that pivotal night in late September, when Sasuke had seemed to rise above his despair, he'd made it clear the topic was closed. He seemed very interested in Itachi instead, and where his affections may or may not lie.

Itachi humored him, feigning interest in a few people, but overall the notion of him being with anyone now was absurd. He was a man with responsibilities and had no time for love. He wouldn't have even taken Karin to wife if his father hadn't forced him to it. No, Itachi had never been in love and was not looking for it. But if it made his brother feel better, he could pretend to look over the current selection of females from time to time, having a good laugh with him over the idea of marrying some spinster or other.

* * *

Christmas, the day of the gala, dawned bright and clear; it had snowed again in the night and the Uchiha grounds were pristine and picturesque. The manor was decorated tastefully with several large wreaths, candles of varying sizes, and much tinsel.

Itachi woke to Neji's quiet voice. He drew back his bed curtains and said that yes, he wanted to shave this morning.

-oOo-

He had a specially crafted chair and stand for this. Sitting in it now, he observed his sleep reddened face in the mirror above the stand. Neji went to the window, drew back the curtain to let in light, and came back to Itachi. Itachi's eyes left off staring at his reflection to stare at Neji instead.

Gaara had nicked him so badly when he'd tried to shave him, nearly opening his throat, that Itachi had been forced to shave himself for a time. Gaara's shame at this near catastrophe had him jumpy and nervous around Itachi so that he'd had to tell the boy to go back to serving Sasuke alone. Neji had stepped in and said he didn't mind being Itachi's manservant, as well as his assistant. Itachi had relented gratefully.

He watched Neji drop the shaving soap into the hammered brass cup. He then took the shaving brush and soaked it in the basin of warm water he had handy, also setting the cup in the water to make it warm. When the bristles were soft he began a deft whisking motion in the cup, working up a rich, thick lather. When it was as he wanted it, he took up the straight razor, flicked it open, and gently placed his fingertips to either side of Itachi's forehead, tilting his head back. Itachi folded his lips inward in preparation.

The lather was warm, thanks to Neji's considerate way of heating the cup beforehand. A kindness, here in his chilly room. It went smoothly onto Itachi's cheeks and chin, applied by Neji's skillful hands. Normally he kept his eyes closed for this process, but this time he found himself looking up at those pale gray eyes, at the way they were intent on what he was doing.

He'd heard of the Hyuuga family, long before he'd met Neji, from his father. Apparently they had once been as highly respected as the Uchiha and still were. Neji himself seemed to have some measure of respect for the Uchiha name, learned, he'd said, from what he remembered of the family when he'd been in Japan as a child.

Regardless, Itachi had come to rely heavily on him. Neji never failed to address him with the proper respect now. That discussion they'd had a couple of months ago seemed to have done the trick. He handled much of Itachi's business without a hitch, and yet managed to be an attentive manservant into the bargain. Itachi personally did not know what he'd do without the man.

It was rude of him to stare, but he didn't –couldn't- look away. It seemed now that he'd never really looked closely at Neji. Well, why would one have cause to stare at their servant? Neji's lashes were long and thick, an amazing thing, Itachi decided. The nose was straight and proud, fitting perfectly with the boldly masculine lips and strong jaw. Raising his eyes again, Itachi considered the way Neji's dark brows winged upward over his eyes. The man really was beautiful.

He jumped at this thought, which caused Neji to angle the blade sharply to prevent a nasty cut. "My lord?" he asked. He was looking at Itachi with his customary steady gaze. "Did I-"

Itachi forcibly smoothed his features from their frown of surprise. "It's nothing, Neji. I… simply remembered that I'd forgotten to… tell the caterer about our wine selection this evening."

Neji resumed shaving Itachi's jaw in sure-handed strokes. "I handled all the arrangements with the caterer, sir. And I gave them the wine selection you drew up, as requested. Everything's in order."

"Right," Itachi said. His voice trembled the faintest bit. "Of course it is." He kept his eyes firmly closed until Neji wiped his face clean with a warm cloth. Then he sat up straight to have his hair brushed. With Neji safely behind him, he felt he could open his eyes again. _What an improper thought. _

_

* * *

_

As the Uchiha household was considered unfit for such a gathering with no matron on the premises, the gala was being held at another location. It was an old plantation-style house, large and sprawling, and one of many such properties belonging to the Uchiha name. This house was several miles away from Uchiha manor.

Itachi and Sasuke, dressed to kill in black coats and tails, stepped from their ornate coach at the appointed hour. The plantation was awash with candle and gas light, and redolent of food and wine. The orchestra Itachi had hired could already be heard. They were among the first to arrive, as hosts of the event, and walked quickly inside to begin greeting their guests. Neji, who'd driven them, went around back to stow the coach and horses until such time as his employers would be ready to leave.

-oOo-

"Not a bad turnout," Itachi murmured an hour later. "I daresay most of these people are here to learn firsthand of Father's disappearance and your mysterious months at sea. People are such gossips."

"I couldn't agree more," Sasuke answered as he doffed his hat to Yamanaka Ino and her family. She swept over, her eyes dewy with adoration. He was forced to take her gloved hand in his and raise it to his lips.

He'd noticed that many people asked him repeatedly, under the guise of concern, where he'd run off to last winter. He'd been close-lipped about it, as it was none of their business, but his silence only ensured that speculation ran high.

"I do hope you'll sign my dance card, my lord Sasuke?" Ino said breathily.

"Of course," he murmured politely. He gave another small bow.

-oOo-

Itachi observed his brother as the evening wore on. Sasuke behaved flawlessly, much as he used to do before he'd run away. And just as then, he could see that beneath the surface of Sasuke's polite look of interest he was seething inside. Ino prattled on about her new hat, some latest fashion or the other. Sasuke nodded dutifully, but Itachi knew him. And he knew that Sasuke would continue to choke back his real feelings, only this time, without the catalyst of their father to goad him into running off, he would remain as he was- unhappy, yet smiling politely. He knew that to Sasuke's mind running away hadn't solved anything so there was no point in doing it again.

He wanted to help his brother, really he did. He just didn't know how. He himself was content with his lifestyle, especially now that he had the run of the family and business. Sasuke somehow had never quite fit in, despite how hard he tried. No matter how correctly he behaved, or how high his station was, there had always been that streak of rebellion in him, that element of dissatisfaction, that need for adventure. He conformed to this lifestyle, but with difficulty. And it just about killed Itachi to see his brother suffering so.

* * *

A rented buggy pulled up in front of the plantation when the party had been underway for several hours. A lone man stepped out and paid the driver to wait for one hour. "I better find you out here when I come looking for you, too, or I'll be cracking your skull with a rock. I know where you work, pal. More to the point, you live in my old building."

Turning to survey the brightly lit house, the man wiggled his pinched toes in his uncomfortable shoes, and ran his hands down the stiff lapels of his suit. He slipped a finger under the high, tight collar of his starched shirt and wondered for the tenth time if he was supposed to have a hat. He didn't like putting things on his head, so he hadn't bought one. He decided that he was as ready as he'd ever be and squared his shoulders. He walked up to the open door and entered the house.

* * *

Sasuke lost count of how many women and girls found excuses to speak to him, in the company of their chaperones, of course. He signed dance cards and danced with these same people, and could not remember a single face or word of conversation. Had this been his life before? Had it really? No wonder he'd run away! He'd been closeted at the manor for the most part since coming back, the odd luncheon or game of cards or horse ride aside. This was his first real foray into society in a year and he found it nothing short of abhorrent.

He blinked, and saw that Ino was talking to him yet again. He'd only come to his senses because Sakura's name had been mentioned.

"-gone completely into seclusion since you've jilted her, of course," Ino was whispering gleefully. "I heard from TenTen, who heard from her aunt, who heard from her sister's cousin's closest friend that the Haruno family was even considering moving away, the shame was so great. And then-"

Sasuke stared at her and wondered how anyone could be so small-minded as to consider another's downfall or disgrace to be the highlight of their year. He watched her mouth moving, talking at high speed of some other girl who'd been compromised and left to shoulder the disgrace by herself.

He felt dizzy. Looking up, he saw the way dozens of couples were waltzing around the floor. Vertigo struck him, intensifying the sensation of dizziness, Ino kept yammering, and he suddenly felt as if his collar was strangling him. If he didn't get out of there soon, he knew he would cause a scene that would never be forgotten.

The hubbub of conversation and laughter, previously a ceaseless background murmur that seemed to escalate with Sasuke's dizziness, faltered now. It slowly died away. Sasuke looked up from Ino's avid face, frowning at the silence. The ballroom was now completely hushed. He stood up to see what the cause was.

-oOo-

A man stood in the entry of the wide doorway, studiously ignoring the hired butler's attempts to get him to leave. By now every head in the room was turned to regard this intruder. Once beheld, he was judged to be exactly what he was: common.

What intrigued the guests was the way this man was dressed, despite his obvious lack of blue blood, and the way he stared about the room boldly.

The man took a few steps forward, and as one the crowd edged back a bit. The man positively exuded danger and menace with his fierce scowl. His steps were slow, heavy with his weight, and sharp-sounding due to his shiny new shoes. His broad shoulders were assessed in his formal coat of deep black, just as the width of his muscular thighs were. His large hands were noted to be without gloves and considerably broader than any other male's present. And his hair. His hair was a color not seen on anyone in that room save a few females. Likewise his piercingly blue eyes were direct and challenging, most unlike the gentlemen present.

Those aristocratic women who secretly had relations with their beefy stable hands or gardeners felt an immediate pooling of moisture between their thighs at the sight of such an uncommonly virile male in their midst. It was indecent to have such a man look upon their unmarried daughters as he did, and the indecency was thoroughly relished by these same daughters. Why, the very way he flaunted himself where he didn't belong was stimulating to the extreme.

Men drew themselves up to their full heights. They breathed deeply to expand their paltry chests lest their persons be found lacking. Their women could have told them it was too late for that; there were quite a few heaving bosoms and hastily fanned cheeks, and not a few sexual sighs of salacious appreciation.

A low ripple of whispers, _who is he, where did he come from, I've never seen him before, what does he want, my word he's wearing an earring! _circled the throng of staring guests, until Itachi himself finally made it to the man.

-oOo-

Itachi recognized him of course, but barely. Naruto stood painfully straight, which seemed to emphasize his height and the breadth of his torso in his coat. The clothing alone rendered a drastic change. But for the hair, and eyes, and his size… well, all right there was no mistaking Naruto. Itachi stood in front of him, and decided it was best if he behaved as if this were their first meeting. Already this evening would go down as fodder for the gossip mill for months, perhaps years, to come. "I'm Uchiha Itachi, host of this function. May I help you, good sir?"

Naruto quite passionately wished he'd never come here. The stares he was receiving were nigh on intolerable. He knew he should have worn a hat. And gloves, he noted with a frown at Itachi's hands.

Itachi. He could imagine Itachi not recognizing him. He looked the man insolently up and down, and decided he still hated him. "I'm looking for your brother. Is he here?"

There were a few gasps at the timbre of Naruto's voice (no man present would ever be able to achieve that deep tone, or the volume- Naruto was accustomed to shouting orders, while these men spoke in cultured murmurs), but Itachi inwardly felt like bursting into song. If the man was here to reunite with his brother, he would do everything in his power to facilitate it. He'd never seen Sasuke happier than when he'd been speaking of Naruto, no more angry and depressed as he'd been since they'd parted. He turned and located Sasuke with his eyes. This was easy to do since the crowd, having heard every word, parted like the Red Sea to reveal Sasuke standing beside Ino still, apparently in a state of shock.

-oOo-

His dizziness was completely gone now, replaced with a dull throbbing in his head. Sasuke heard Ino whispering feverishly to him, asking him how he knew 'that man', but he tuned her out. He felt as if his eyes were coming from his head, so hard did he stare at… that man.

The suit was tailored, which meant Naruto had known at least two weeks ago that he was coming to this gala, which meant he'd been in port at least three weeks, and that meant he'd planned this little showdown, and Sasuke knew that he was rambling in his own mind, and stalling, and dear lord Naruto was walking toward him.

Ino clung hard to Sasuke's arm, intent on being present for any words that were exchanged. She would be sought after for being in possession of the juiciest gossip anyone had been privy to in ages. It was her duty to get the dirt first hand.

He was peripherally aware that heads turned to follow Naruto's progress. It seemed that many minutes passed as he walked. Long enough for Sasuke to notice the polished black shoes, and the lack of a cravat. Long enough to notice that there was pomade in the bright hair, making the thick spikes gleam as brilliantly as that hoop earring… and there was that key dangling from the earring… and that his cock was growing hard in front of 250 guests. He couldn't help it. He'd never seen or even imagined that Naruto could look as he did tonight. He'd never really considered his looks before, simply accepting that the man had unusual coloring, but he could definitely say now that Naruto put sculpture to shame.

-oOo-

Naruto reached Sasuke at last, briefly took in his blank face and stiff posture, before dropping his eyes to the hand some woman had on his arm. He turned the full force of his eyes on her, intending to tell her he wanted a word with Sasuke.

Ino took one look at those frowning blond brows and fainted gracefully at Sasuke's side. No one moved to catch her or fetch the smelling salts.

Naruto chuffed out an inaudible snort. Seemed the rumors were true and highborn ladies did faint for no reason. He shrugged a shoulder and turned back to Sasuke, who hadn't even looked down when Ino dropped. "I believe you and I have some unfinished business to attend to. Is there somewhere we can be private?"

Sasuke recovered almost completely at being addressed in that familiar voice. He nodded, turned, and led the way out of the ballroom. Conversation broke out from nearly every throat almost as soon as their backs were turned. Itachi could be heard deflecting questions and asking everyone to please return to enjoying the evening.

* * *

Down the hall, left turn, down another hall that let out in the large foyer, which contained the wide stairway that led to the second floor. Sasuke felt an alarming mixture of heat and cold, tingling and numbness in his extremities as he heard Naruto walking behind him. Their footsteps echoed hollowly on the tiled flooring. Naruto was here and wanting to talk to him. He had to concentrate on his breathing. Blessedly, an absolute gale of anger was beginning to fill the blankness in his mind, so that the confusion was being blown away. The fog of lust-tinged gladness was being replaced with hard rage and bitter resentment. It made his breathing short and labored. He was shaking by the time he entered a door in the upstairs hall, and gritting his teeth by the time Naruto walked in after him. He shut the door quietly, resisting the urge to slam it.

Unfinished business? The man had left him to drown, both literally in the harbor and figuratively in his grief. Now he had the nerve to come back and demand to speak to him? Sasuke walked to the far wall, his arms folded over his chest. He looked at Naruto, who was walking slowly toward him, searching his face.

-oOo-

Naruto didn't know what to do with his hands. He ended up running one through his hair, recently chopped down to its usual length, then grimaced at the gunk in it. He'd had the man who'd delivered his suit dress him. The man had insisted on putting that shit in his hair and Naruto had been too nervous at the coming meeting to resist.

Sasuke looked angry. His face was actually neutral, but he had come to know Sasuke's moods on _Whirlwind. _He was furious, Naruto could tell. He'd known Sasuke would be… he'd just secretly hoped that Sasuke would be happy to see him too.

How should he begin? He could scarcely think. All he wanted was to snatch Sasuke and make it to the buggy, and fuck him on the ride back to his ship, then fuck him in the ship, and then sail to the far side of the globe and fuck him the entire time.

A plan that was somewhat flawed.

And Sasuke wasn't making things easier. Naruto cleared his throat. "You seem well. Are you?"

"Peachy. What do you want, Naruto?"

Naruto stopped advancing when he was still several feet from him. He hadn't thought he'd be called upon to come to the point so quickly… but it _was _why he was here, wasn't it? "I came to apologize," he said quietly. He felt an immediate lessening in his nerves once the words were out.

Sasuke raised one eyebrow. Nothing else.

"For leaving you."

More silence. Naruto gained confidence; if Sasuke wasn't condemning him, then perhaps there was a chance… "I miss you and would like for you to come… back. To me."

There. He hadn't thought he'd be able to admit to missing Sasuke, but Naruto felt he'd done all right, all things considered. He'd apologized, shared his feelings, and stated in clear terms that he did in fact want Sasuke. The rest should be obvious: he was dressed as a noble, here at this party, and making the first move all because he loved him.

-oOo-

When he saw that no more would be said, Sasuke slowly unfolded himself from the wall and closed the distance between them. He took a moment to take in the suit properly. Never in his life had he ever seen anyone fill out a suit the way Naruto did. That was understandable, seeing as there were no nobles built like longshoremen. Naruto was wearing some sort of Eau de Toilet as well, which made Sasuke shiver. He stopped feasting his eyes on the suit to regard Naruto's face.

He had to keep his arms folded. It was the only way to maintain a semblance of control. And control was the cornerstone of an aristocrat's life and dealings with all situations. That and proper etiquette. He met Naruto's eyes, eyes he'd dreamed about nightly, to his disgust. "Get out of my sight."

Naruto frowned. "What?"

"I said to get. Out. Of my _sight._"

"Sasuke, I'm apologizing-"

"And what on God's green earth made you think apologizing would solve anything?"

"You… I…. I know you're angry, but-"

"You know _nothing_. We've been separated a year. I've moved on and don't plan on looking back anytime soon. You're too late."

Naruto felt his mind and emotions trying to seal themselves off, but he didn't come here to give up so easily. Not again. "Is there someone else?"

Sasuke snorted. "Women throw themselves at me in droves. I may yet choose one, but no. There's no one."

"Then why can't I have another chance?"

"Because you don't deserve one," Sasuke said shortly, slowly losing his control. "And you're not saying anything I particularly care to hear." _Such as your feelings for me._ He took in the suit again, imagined the big body naked, then took a step closer. He leaned into Naruto's face, looking up at the sad blue eyes. "Let's have an understanding here, shall we? You left. I was upset when you did, but you were right to. I needed to settle things with my brother, and you had a life to get started. I've come to my senses, thank you, so don't think I'll be repeating my ghastly performance from Panama. Now then, as I said before… get out. And don't come back."

Sasuke's eyes were as hard as steel, much as his voice was. He meant his words, that much was crystal clear. Naruto swallowed.

It had taken more courage than he'd known he had to come here tonight, to make the decision to go after Sasuke. And Sasuke had just told him he was wasting his time. Was this how Sasuke had felt when he'd left him in Panama? It would have been kinder to shoot Sasuke, if that was the case. He managed to hold it together a little longer, found it in him to put forth once last offer. "If that's the way you feel, so be it. I won't force anyone to be with me. But in case you change your mind, _Destiny_'s docked at the waterfront right where _Whirlwind _was. I'll be leaving in less than a week for Panama. I… have a place down there. Farmland. It's secluded. No one would bother us if we… if you changed your mind. And we could be out on the ocean while I work if anyone did…" It was what had taken him so long to seek Sasuke out once he'd made up his mind to take him back. He'd needed months to eat right and get his health back in order. He'd bought the house, bought part ownership in Kakashi's company, and mended things with his crew. He'd planned to look Neji up and patch that relationship as well, but no one knew where he was.

Sasuke didn't answer him, only continued to run his eyes up and down the suit Naruto wore. Naruto sighed, nodded, and turned to leave.

-oOo-

Sasuke stood frozen. He clutched the fabric of his coat sleeves in nerveless fingers. _He didn't say he loves me. He didn't say he needed or wanted me. Just 'I'm here and want you back so come live with me.' _The man always had been impossible.

Covering his mouth with a hand at remembering the way Naruto had looked, Sasuke went downstairs, past the ballroom and his brother's concerned face, and out to the large carriage house. He located Neji standing with some other coachmen. "Take me home." When he'd made it home he told Gaara he was unwell, shut himself in his room, and was not seen again for the better part of two days.

* * *

Naruto had gotten in his rented buggy and given the address to a seedy part of town. Once there, he walked the narrow, littered streets, passing beneath lamps that still ran on gas in this part of the city, until he came to a stone overhead bridge.

Boxing was a pastime used to make money. The poorest of the poor, the destitute, were the ones usually engaged in the sport. As such, the fighters were desperate men, and ruthless adversaries. The Irish dominated, but you had a few from other nationalities that usually came to fight and ended up dead. Naruto was an exception.

He walked up to the secretive cluster of men, towering above the crowd, to find that someone was right then in the process of taking on one of the bigger Irish thugs, a man who went by the name of Danny. A closer look revealed Danny's opponent to be none other than Kiba. He watched him deliver a blow to Danny's neck that opened up the artery there. Danny fell to the pavement, a hand to his spurting neck. Naruto saw Kiba shove the hidden shard of glass in his pocket as he turned to receive his winnings.

There were no rules to speak of in these 'rings'. Kiba was paid, his bloody fist clutching the wad of bills high above his head as he was clapped on the back. "Any takers?" he growled loudly to the rough cheers. Naruto stepped forward.

It was the second time that evening that his presence managed to silence a crowd. Instead of shock and speculation this time, the crowd gave him room out of respect and apprehension. Dressed as gentry he might be, but every man there knew that Uzumaki Naruto was anything but. He was _the _meanest, most ruthless patron of the underground world of boxing. Undefeated. Merciless, and just about impossible to knock out. His clothes were eyed beadily. Kiba spat at his feet as Naruto slipped his coat and shirt off. He entered the ring made of spectators, and the bets began rolling in, the bookies writing furiously.

-oOo-

He missed Sasuke.

He'd tried to get him back and had been rebuffed with scorn. Looking at the coat and shirt in his hand, Naruto felt scorn for himself. It was nothing but a costume, and whatever he'd had with Sasuke on _Whirlwind _was evidently gone. This –this dirty pocket of dangerous humanity under the bridge, awash with the stench of piss and the dull certainty that life would never improve- this was where he belonged. He was sure Sasuke was gone forever. His felt a stab of grief so sharp it stopped his breath.

Then he threw the coat and shirt into the crowd, shook his head briskly and lowered his chin. He consciously used his grief and hurt, and his righteous anger at life, to bleed away any softness in him. When he opened his eyes at the signal to begin, there was none of the man Sasuke had known on the ship.

Naruto waded in to Kiba's swinging fists.

-oOo-

Later, he stepped over his body to take his winnings before turning to the crowd at large, who were not cheering him on. "The man who can take me down will get a thousand dollars."

They rushed him. The bookies skipped back and ran. It was sure to be a slaughter and they wanted nothing to do with Uzumaki's apparent insanity.

Naruto merely balled his bloody fists and set to work.

* * *

Itachi was worried. His brother was locked in his room and cursed foully at whoever approached his door. The confrontation with Naruto must have gone badly.

-oOo-

A day and a half after the gala, when Sasuke called weakly for Gaara to bring him ice, Itachi rushed into the room behind the lad and found Sasuke in bed. His brother was pale and shaking, as if having suffered some illness. "Sasuke?" he whispered as he sat beside the bed. "Shall I send for the doctor?"

Sasuke groaned and winced as he shifted beneath his blanket. "No. I'm fine." Gaara handed him the ice wrapped in a linen kerchief. Itachi watched as his brother placed it in the vicinity of his stomach, under the blanket.

"Are you certain? Why did you lock your door for so long? Have you eaten? You don't seem fine… Gaara, crack the window before you leave. There is a musty smell in here." Itachi shivered slightly at the icy draft that blew around the room. Sasuke pulled his blanket higher, and regarded his brother with frank eyes.

"Itachi. I love you. You know that, right?"

"Yes, of course. Sasuke-"

"Then you'll understand when I say that this… life… isn't for me? I can't change who and what I am, but I can't continue with such a staid existence either."

Itachi lowered his head briefly. "That sounds as if you're leaving. From the way you barricaded yourself in this room –what _is _that smell?- I thought things had gone badly with Naruto."

"I turned him away, yes."

"I see." Then Itachi listened without interruption to his brother's plans for his life. When Sasuke was done, he sat in silence for some time. "Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course you will! As often as I can manage it. Will you be all right here without me?"

"I daresay I will be. As long as I know you're all right, that is. Neji is a godsend, he does much of the work. You will send me frequent telegrams and letters, won't you?"

"I will at that."

"When will you leave?"

"Ah. As for that, I will need Neji to do a few things for me."

"I'll send him right up." Itachi got up and hesitated by his brother's bedside. "You're sure about this plan? It seems a roundabout way to do things. At the gala-"

"I'm sure."

Sasuke watched Itachi nod before he left the room, then rang for Gaara. He needed more ice.

* * *

Naruto waited out the rest of the holiday cheer evident in the city on his ship. He was still bruised from his activities under the bridge, but the majority of the men had run as the bookies had once they'd seen the look of death in his eyes. Kiba wasn't even cold yet, a convenient reminder that his corpse could just as easily be any of them. It hit them suddenly that life wasn't so bad. Naruto had limped back to _Destiny _and had Chouji patch him up.

His crew was ashore. Temari and Kankurou had sent Gaara a telegram for him to meet them some place. Naruto hadn't seen the kid, knowing the sight of him would bring back memories he could do without. He went over paper work for expanding Kakashi's company to an office here in New York, an undertaking he'd begun as a way to make trips to the city a frequent necessity. This was something he'd put in place so that Sasuke could visit his precious brother from time to time… but Sasuke had not taken him back. He still had the paperwork to do, though, since it was a legitimate venture.

Naruto couldn't wait to be gone, and that was the truth. He planned to sail on New Year's, which was still two days away. He clenched his jaw and refocused on the documents in his hand.

-oOo-

He looked up at the knock on his cabin door and called come in. No one did. Curious, and having the sudden thought that it might be Sasuke, he got up from his repaired desk and went to open the door himself.

A set of knuckles greeted him.

Naruto felt something like a sledgehammer ram into his face and then he was staggering back, effectively blind. He heard the door close, footsteps walking over to him. Then those same rock-hard hands were landing on him everywhere, sending him to his knees. He managed to ascertain that it was not, in fact, Sasuke.

He was kicked, punched, chopped, stomped, and then finally near the end, his head was drawn back and slammed against the floor. He looked up blearily from swollen lids to find Neji shaking his hands in pain.

"Hitting you is like hitting a brick wall, you know that?" the Hyuuga hissed. He sucked one knuckle with a wince. "And there you sit, still conscious. Looks like someone softened you up for me, too. Fuck, is there no taking you down without resorting to family arts?"

Naruto thought he was close to passing out. The only reason he wasn't dead was because Neji hadn't used any of his family's technique on him. Naruto had never fought Neji but he knew he was no match for him. Lucky for him the Hyuuga had stuck to good ole street fighting. Naruto could be pummeled thusly until the cows came home, and then get up and walk away. It was those fancy Japanese moves Neji and Sasuke had that he could never win against. "What-"

"Heard about your appearance at a certain party. I work for the Uchiha, in case you didn't know."

He hadn't known. Naruto groaned his way to a sitting position and propped his back against his desk. He stared at the suit Neji had on for a moment, noting how well his friend looked in it. "So… how'd that happen?"

Neji stared at Naruto in rank disbelief. "You're unbelievable, you know that? To hell with how it happened. I want to talk about you ending our friendship the way you did."

Naruto leveraged himself straighter, and swiped a hand under his leaking nose. He studied the red smear. "What do you want me to say?"

Neji shook his head and dropped to sit on the bed. "How about telling me if you really plan to leave things like this between us? How about 'I'm sorry, Neji'?"

"I tried to find you to apologize." Naruto swallowed painfully. Neji had gotten him in the throat a few times. "I don't exactly regret what I did, but I miss having you around."

"Do you now," Neji said, nonplussed. "Don't recall you being the type to tell anyone you missed them, least of all me." He eyed Naruto shrewdly. "Or am I wrong? Have you changed?"

Naruto looked around his cabin, the scene of his madness, his agony. "Had I known what leaving him would do to me I would never had done it. I would have sent the boat for him myself. I can't really say that I've changed, though. I'm still a miserable bastard. All that's different is that now I'm a bastard in love with a man who doesn't want me anymore."

Neji grinned. "_Good_ for you. I'm glad you're hurting. You didn't see what you did to him, Naruto." Then he thought about the things Chouji and Shino had told him when he'd located them in a bar the previous night. He stopped grinning, and once more shook his head. "I swear I don't know why you would put yourself through such hell for so long. Why didn't you just turn around and come back to him?"

Naruto put his feet on the floor and rested his forearms on his knees. He stared at his rough-hewn hands without answering.

"Stubborn jackass." Neji thought about giving Naruto a bit of news that would cheer him up, but decided against it. Wasn't his place to tell. Instead he asked, "So are we friends again?"

Naruto felt his eyes sting, but they were dry. He held up his hand. Neji stood and took it, then pulled Naruto to his feet with a grunt. Naruto got him in a tight embrace, and Neji hugged back, clapping Naruto's back as he did so. "I'm sorry," Naruto said against his shoulder. "I could have really used you this past year."

Neji pulled away and playfully punched Naruto's arm. "You're forgiven. I should get back," he added as he headed toward the door. "Look me up when you're in town again, neh?"

"What makes you think I'd come back here?"

Neji held his gaze for a few moments, a small smile curling his lips. "Let's just say I have reason to believe New York hasn't seen the last of you." He opened the door.

"Neji, wait. You don't have to go." Naruto walked over and closed the door again. "I have room on my ship for additional crew… you can have your old job back. It pays better now that I'm making more money. You don't have to go back to work for… the…" He trailed off, puzzled at the way Neji was suddenly avoiding his eyes. "Neji?"

Neji twisted his mouth and folded his arms. It was a look and mannerism that Naruto knew to mean his friend was hiding something. He waited, watching Neji chew the inside of his cheek.

"I'm staying there, Naruto. Not only because it pays better and the work is interesting, either. There's… someone."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Someone?" His voice was faint with incredulity. "What do you mean someone? A _someone _kind of someone? There's never been a someone before, has there?" Neji threw an embarrassed look Naruto's way. Naruto numbly guided Neji to his desk (which now had a chair on either side of it), fished a bottle of whiskey out of the bottom drawer, and uncorked it. He wordlessly handed it over.

-oOo-

Neji swigged deeply, spluttered with his eyes screwed shut, shuddered, then drank again. He thumped the bottle on the table with a vigorous shake of his head. His eyes watered profusely. "Jesus H. Christ, that's some brutal shit." He saw that the bottle had no label. "Where'd you get this yak piss?"

"Africa. Don't ask from who, the man couldn't speak English. It might be yak piss in truth." Naruto waited until Neji had lived through another swallow. "Who is it? It's a man, or you wouldn't be shifty-eyed. Is it serious?"

Neji made a strangled sound at another swallow, before deciding he liked the lining of his stomach the way it was. He pushed the bottle across the desk with a shaking hand. "What does serious mean? The way you and Sasuke were?"

Naruto nodded, took the bottle and swigged briskly. The trick was not to let the stuff touch your tongue, but to get it down as quickly as possible.

"I can't say that it is," Neji said slowly, looking at the desk. "We haven't touched. He doesn't know of my feelings and is not remotely interested in men that I can tell."

Naruto frowned. "Then why stay?"

"Because… I've never wanted anything in my life like I want him. I know probably nothing will come of it, but I want to be near him."

"I see. Who is it?"

Neji had the grace to blush faintly. He looked aside. "Itachi. Sasuke's brother."

Naruto choked down another sip before stoppering the bottle again. He pushed it to one side and clasped his hands on the desk. "That's rich. You love him?"

Neji was thoughtful. "I don't know. I mean, nothing's been said between us. He knows nothing about me at all, even though I handle most of his business. And he sees me as nothing but a servant."

Naruto listened closely to what wasn't said. "You admire him. You're loyal to him and I've never known you to be loyal to anyone outside of three people: Your dad, me, and yourself. You're willing to stay on land, working to assist him, when he doesn't even see you; you do love him, Neji." Studying the way Neji avoided his eyes, he added quietly, "It's way beyond serious, isn't it."

Neji covered his eyes with a hand. "God, I don't know what to do. Sometimes I feel like running away from that house. Other times… ack. I've nearly forced myself on him more times than I can count. Is this what you feel for Sasuke? This constant ache and desire to touch him? It's madness."

"That it is," Naruto nodded. "And since Itachi neither prefers men, nor sees your feelings, why not come back?"

"No. Hear me out," Neji raised his hands when Naruto protested. "I can't just up and leave. Give me a year. Maybe I'll be over it by then. Come back in a year and we'll see, okay?"

"If you want. Are you sure, Neji? If you're still angry with me-"

Neji waved his hand nonchalantly as he stood to leave. "Eh, I've known you too long to stay angry with your block-headed ways. I'll be in touch."

"Neji," Naruto called when he was almost out the door. He debated with himself a moment before blurting, "How is he? Sasuke, I mean."

"He seems a lot better, now that you mention it." Hiding his malicious grin, Neji left before Naruto's woebegone expression could have him in stitches.

* * *

Neji's parting statement left Naruto in a foul mood for the rest of his stay in New York. As a result, it wasn't until the morning he was supposed to leave that he noticed his crew behaving oddly.

They went around with hellishly bright smiles, and cheerful dispositions. Most especially Kankurou and Temari, who were caught actually shirking their duties to laugh and whisper over some matter.

Naruto stood on deck and scowled at them all. "What the bleeding hell has gotten into you people?" he fumed. "I want to be off within the hour. Get to work!"

"Captain," Shikamaru sidled up to him. "We need these papers signed before we can head back to Panama."

Naruto took the leather folder of documents, flipped through it, then snapped it closed. He brandished it in Shikamaru's face, pinning him at the same time with an irate stare. "And why didn't you tell me this when we landed weeks ago? You realize every place of note is closed for fucking New Year's? How do you expect these to get signed? Why didn't you see to it yourself?" His voice rose with each question.

"I'm sorry, Captain," Shikamaru demurred. "I just thought-"

"Be ready to leave the second I get back," Naruto growled. He tightened his great coat about himself as he stormed off his ship.

-oOo-

Naruto eyed the 'closed' sign tacked on the door of the individual he'd come to see, and felt as if he could happily murder Shikamaru. As he turned and began slogging his way through snowdrifts that reached his knees, he seriously considered having the man replaced.

He wanted out of New York. There was nothing for him here. And though it was a knife to his heart, he knew Sasuke'd had every right to treat him as he had. He'd lived through months of dread at Sasuke saying and feeling exactly the things he'd said a few nights ago, and now that he knew for sure all hope was lost, he felt… dead. The pain was there, if he chose to face it, but for the most part he felt cut loose. Adrift. He wanted Sasuke with a ferocity that didn't abate, but he could and did turn his back on those feelings now. He would walk away, and never look back, and when he'd gone far enough, when enough time had passed, he thought he'd be fine. Hell, he was fine now. He didn't need Sasuke. He didn't need anyone.

It began snowing. Naruto hunched his shoulders at the cold flakes that made it down his collar. He wasn't wearing a hat or gloves. He walked faster, silently cursing the city official for having the inconsideration to stay home when people needed papers signed.

Honestly, what more did Sasuke want from him? Hadn't he apologized? Hadn't he donned that ridiculous suit and humbled himself enough to nearly beg? Okay, he'd left him hanging, but like Sasuke said, they each had shit to work through, right? What did the man want, his eternal soul?

And while he was on the subject, how was it possible to hurt for so long, so monstrously, after only a couple of months with someone? Wouldn't you need to be with someone for years in order for their absence to kill you like this? Naruto pondered this as he trudged wretchedly in the snow. Then his thoughts turned to Neji. The man was a pain in the ass, but dear to him despite that. He didn't wish the torment of unrequited love on anyone, least of all Neji. He hoped the man changed his mind and sailed with him, or else came down to Panama before a year was up.

Naruto reached the small, merry house surrounded by a picket fence, shoved the carolers singing outside it aside (some fell in the snow where they were nearly smothered; they were school girls for the most part), and banged his fist hard on the door. He eyed the sky, saw how late it was and that he'd missed the first tide, and cursed. This time he drew back his foot and kicked the door half off its hinges.

-oOo-

All through the outraged man's loud protestations, and his family's frightened whimpering, and the threats to call the authorities, and his own demands to have the blasted papers signed, Naruto kept telling himself the same thing over and over again: he was fine. He could and would live without Sasuke, or any other man. He was fine.

The city official signed the papers with Naruto looming over him. Once he'd pushed them toward the hulking madman, he threatened to get his pistol if Naruto didn't leave immediately. Naruto, in the process of checking the signatures, looked at the short, fat man with a bland eye.

He backhanded the man hard enough to have him flying against one wall. The man slid to the floor with a groan, almost unconscious. His wife joined him by fainting in fright. The two terrified children clung to each other in a corner, crying noisily and shivering.

Naruto looked at them, at the wife, at the man. He looked at the snow swirling in from the broken door and the pot of ink that had spilled when he'd struck the man. It spread in a dark river across the lacquered writing desk, to drip onto the small area rug beneath the desk and chair. Each drop swelled ponderously from the edge of the desk, hung briefly, then fell gracefully to join the growing puddle on the rug.

Drip… drip… drip…

Fascinating.

Looking away at last, he calmly put the papers in their leather folder, and wound the twine sealing it extra tight. He held the folder in shaking hands as he looked around again, briefly confused. Taking a hat he found hanging by the lopsided door, he jammed it on his head and stalked out of the house.

He was fine. No problems whatsoever. Nope.

* * *

Naruto boarded _Destiny _and threw the folder at Shikamaru's head. "Tide's coming in. I want to be out with it." He moved toward the direction of his cabin.

Chouji rushed up with a chart. "Captain, I was wondering if we could go over this route a moment?"

"What for?" Naruto glanced at the chart. "You never need my input."

"I know but-"

"Out of my way."

Chouji meekly stepped aside. Kankurou stepped in Naruto's path. "There's a situation down in the hold you'll want to take a look at, Captain."

"Have Shikamaru see to it." Naruto shouldered past. Kankurou moved to block him again. "It's really a matter for your eyes."

Naruto sighed shortly. "What is it?"

It was one thing after another, and none of it was particularly pressing that Naruto could see. His crew bombarded him with an unprecedented amount of requests, insisting that he be the one to attend them. After awhile, Naruto just gave in, too raw to continue with the aggravation arguing caused. His crew had already suffered enough from him. He didn't want to alienate them again.

* * *

Shikamaru told him land was out of sight. Naruto noticed his crew suddenly vanished, and assumed they'd gone below to eat. The deck was deserted. He took a moment to look up at the clear dark sky, with its sprinkling of bright stars. He breathed deeply of the icy air and let the cold railing numb his hands. January first. New year. New life. New resolutions.

_I can do this_, Naruto thought bracingly. _I deserved what I got but I'm fine._ Dropping his eyes to the glimmer of the moon on the water, Naruto decided then and there that he wasn't coming back to New York, ever.

It was a sobering thought.

-oOo-

He slouched his way into his cabin, entering blindly and turning to lean his forehead on the door for a moment. How far away from land were they? How long would it take to turn back? Would he be arrested for kidnapping if-

No. What's done is done, and that was that. Naruto lifted his head, and turned to look for his whiskey.

Sasuke.

Sasuke dressed completely in women's garb. Sitting in the chair behind his desk.

Naruto took in odd things in a disjointed sort of way. Sasuke's presence, the sight of him, was like a trumpet going off in his mind. He was dazed. Stunned. Deaf and dumb, if you will. He slowly, inexorably, sagged against the door behind him, mouth slack. He was further assailed with a sense of déjà vu; he could recall the first time Sasuke had worn the black petticoat and corset and feeling a similar sense of unreality wash over him, but that was it. Christ, he couldn't even _think. _

Sasuke's hair was curled. Long and curled. Sasuke was in his cabin. There were gloves, incongruous lace gloves the color of ivory. Didn't his hands get cold wearing such flimsy gloves? That was an old-fashioned-

Oh. They were on his ship, out to sea… land was… gone. Gone, but Sasuke was here. Here, in the cabin. With him. Out to sea. On the ship with-… without Itachi.

And Sasuke looked…

The dress was…

How did that…

Wait, was Sasuke here for him? Did that mean…

What? Yes. So. Ummm…

Naruto finally just closed his eyes. He was sure that when he opened them again, Sasuke would be gone, but no, there he was. He took the time to draw in a long, quiet breath as he firmly reeled in his shock. A lot of things were starting to make sense now. Neji's odd comments, his crew's behavior, the unnecessary delays. This was no accident. Sasuke was here by choice.

He studied the clothes, as yet unable to deal with Sasuke himself. It was his only defense against the unbearably insistent need to pounce and ravage, to conquer and plunder. It was also an effective way to avoid the minefield of whatever confrontation was coming. He just needed a moment.

The gown was elaborate, of the finest silk. It was pink. From the way Sasuke idly moved the leg he had crossed over another, Naruto could see an iridescent gold shimmer to the material. It had a matching tight, fitted jacket that buttoned down the front. His crossed legs showed the yards of ruffles from his white petticoat and – oh, god- his surely custom made boots, buttoned up his calves. Women's boots. His hair, done in ringlets, was fastened in such a way as to leave some tendrils hanging while the rest was gathered elegantly on his head. Naruto could see seed pearls in his hair, which brought his attention to the pearls at Sasuke's throat. The ensemble was finished off with a delicate fan made of pink and white feathers, an odd sight in the dead of winter. Sasuke fanned his face indolently with it, watching Naruto unblinkingly.

-oOo-

Sasuke enjoyed Naruto's initial reaction for many minutes. He really hadn't expected such a satisfactory response. Seeing that Naruto was over his preliminary shock, though, he slowly uncrossed his legs and stood up. He moved with an exaggerated sway of his hips, over to the wide window and looked out at the water. He heard no movement behind him and finally turned to glance over his shoulder. "Do you have any idea what it did to me to see you at that gala on Christmas?" he asked quietly.

With Sasuke's back turned, Naruto was suddenly able to focus on his presence. His heart rate picked up; he was blown away by a cannon of lust that shot a hole through his center and left him unable to breathe. Fighting for air, and burning with excruciating desire, Naruto could only shake his head mutely in answer to Sasuke's question.

Sasuke turned back to the window. "Of course you don't. Suffice it to say that I went directly home and engaged in the lengthiest, most violent, and _sadistic _bout of self-gratification a body could withstand. As I lay recuperating with a pack of ice, I realized something."

Naruto moistened his lips. "And what was that?" His need for Sasuke was starting to burn away all the shock. He was thinking clearly now.

Sasuke's eyes flicked his way. "I realized that you're a coward. Big, mean, and commanding… yet nothing but a puling coward. Did you know that about yourself, Naruto?" he asked pleasantly.

The way he tipped his head showed Naruto a startling sight: Sasuke had on earrings. Pearl earrings to match his necklace winked between the curled tresses of his dark hair. Naruto felt a warm jet of ejaculate squirt out of him and realized he was on the brink of coming hard. He hung his head and swallowed.

Sasuke watched this with an air of contempt. "I suppose you didn't," he said as he walked calmly away from the window. "I, however, am not a coward. I know this, yet I let you leave me in Panama as if I meant nothing, as if _I _were the one too cowardly to fight for what I want."

Naruto winced as the scabs beginning to form on his pain were ripped open. "Please… _please,_" he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke turned and gazed at him proudly, a small smirk curling one corner of his mouth. "Begging? Do continue. I'm enjoying it."

Naruto tried but could think of no words worthy enough. He looked up at Sasuke through his spiky bangs and implored with his eyes. "Sasuke…"

"You've treated me atrociously. You know that, don't you?" Sasuke continued to fan himself, stirring the glossy ringlets of hair that lay against his neck.

Naruto forced himself to remain pressed against the door, to let Sasuke have his say. It had dawned on him that Sasuke couldn't get off this ship, that Sasuke knew that, and so intended for this confrontation to reach some sort of conclusion. And yes, he had treated him like shit. He nodded sadly.

"I didn't deserve such treatment."

Another dejected nod.

"I've given everything to you and never held back."

This time the nod was accompanied by a heavy sigh.

"Which means," Sasuke said, closing his fan with a snap. "That _you_… owe… _me, _now. Isn't that right?"

Naruto looked up at Sasuke's stern face quickly.

"Well?"

"Yes," Naruto hissed. He dropped his eyes again. "I owe you."

Sasuke nodded as well. He pointed to the wardrobe built in to the far wall with his closed fan. "I knew you'd see it that way. From now on whenever you're paying this particular debt to me, you will wear that."

Naruto looked behind him and saw a formal suit of clothing in deep black, complete with blindingly white shirt and top hat hanging on the door. Shiny shoes rested on the floor beneath the suit. It was nearly identical to the one he'd worn to the gala, sized to fit him, he saw. Naruto looked from it to Sasuke and slowly came away from the door.

"However, this once I will overlook the rags you have on," Sasuke sniffed.

"And what of your assertion at the gala? That you'd moved on?"

"I lied."

Naruto continued to stare at him, not daring to try and interpret that last comment. Sasuke returned the stare. Tension built palpably in the room, as faint shouts from petty officers could now be heard.

_Perhaps I've made a mistake in pushing so hard, _Sasuke thought as he took a few slow steps toward Naruto. He was helpless not to; Naruto, with his impossibly large body and smoldering eyes, was like a magnetic force drawing him in. He reached him and stopped. The heels he wore evened their heights. Staring searchingly into his eyes, Sasuke leaned forward.

Naruto held still. He would not believe Sasuke was going back on what he'd said at the gala. He would not-

Sasuke darted his head forward and caught Naruto's bottom lip between his teeth. Naruto hissed, and jerked his hand up reflexively to circle Sasuke's throat. The pearls popped free of their flimsy string to bounce off Naruto's chest and fall to the floor, where they rolled with the faint motion of the ship. Sasuke bit his lip again, withdrew at Naruto's sharp intake of breath, bit once more.

Naruto tightened his hold on Sasuke's neck. So close… he was so close to falling yet again. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He'd spent no small amount of energy convincing himself that Sasuke was gone for good. He didn't need him-

_(You've never needed anything more)_

- and if he gave in again things would get ugly. There'd be no coming back from it. He kept his face a hair's breadth from Sasuke's, his hand clamped around his throat.

Another step brought Sasuke's body flush against Naruto's. Even through his many layers of clothing and Naruto's heavy coat, he could feel that heat. It was a distant thing, muffled by the material, but even feeling it faintly Sasuke knew a sudden, mindless, all-consuming hunger to have it directly on his skin. Naruto's hand on his neck prevented him from doing anything else, though. He looked up from the grim line of Naruto's mouth. He saw the mask Naruto's face was set in and had a revelation. _I went through hell, but he went through something worse. I should have come sooner. _"You saved me once," he whispered against Naruto's mouth. "Let me do the same for you." _Trust me._

Naruto held that black gaze, held himself, held his emotions and what was left of his heart. His unblinking stare turned glassy, shimmered, shattered. A single tear slid from one eye.

His hand loosened in defeat when Sasuke flicked his tongue, catching the tear as it rolled down his cheek. His eyes drifted shut on a prayer: "Save me." _If such a thing is possible. _He didn't deserve salvation.

Sasuke licked again, this time at the salty seam of Naruto's lips, where tears were gathering. He nibbled gently, suckled, kissed, nudged with his lips and tongue. He stepped into Naruto more completely, so that their bodies were pressed together, not just touching. Naruto retreated, coming up against his door with Sasuke advancing to keep them in contact. Sasuke was insistent. The ship hit a small swell and their bodies lost contact briefly. Sasuke's lips left his.

Naruto lost it.

* * *

He took one step and snatched Sasuke back to him by his arms, nearly breaking the man's neck with the force of his kiss.

Sasuke's budding fears evaporated. He returned the kiss just as hungrily, flinging his fan aside to grip Naruto's wild hair. He tugged, pulling himself closer to the wide, hot body he'd missed so terribly.

Naruto lifted him, turned, and rammed him against the door. He did this again, denting the metal surface with Sasuke's back. The he tugged one of Sasuke's hands from his hair, and locked his fingers with the lace covered ones.

Sasuke grunted, kneed Naruto's groin, threw his weight forward. They twisted, staggered in their kiss, their fight, as each sought to overpower the other while refusing to let go. Naruto finally wrapped both arms as tightly around Sasuke's middle as he could, squeezing, squeezing as he lifted. Sasuke broke the kiss, gasping in pain. His head was thrown back, Naruto's head at his chest. Naruto bit the pink material, growling as he clamped his jaws and tore with his teeth, shaking his head back and forth. Buttons popped free and went the way of the pearl necklace. Sasuke clenched his fist and brought it down hard on the blond head, again and again and again, hammering heavily.

Naruto's arms loosened. Sasuke slid downward, and their mouths went after each other.

-oOo-

Teeth drew blood, the blood was consumed in the kiss, and neither man cared about the pain. "If you _ever _leave me again-" Sasuke gasped between kisses.

"Never. _Never, _don't even say it-

"-I'll hunt you and kill you-"

"-I'll never leave your side again, on my life-

"-In me. Now. This instant, Naruto-"

Naruto lifted the voluminous skirts and petticoat, dizzy with the kisses and the feel of Sasuke's hard body in such uncompromisingly feminine clothing. Sasuke caught his face before he could do more though, and looked into his eyes. "Make it hurt," he whispered. Naruto paused only a moment, looking back at him.

He understood. So bad was their break, so painful was their separation, that only in pain and passion could they hope to overcome it. This seemed like an odd thought for him to have, but he didn't question it. He only nodded before kissing Sasuke forcefully again, sucking on his mouth hard.

He ran his fingers up the suspenders holding Sasuke's sheer stockings to his hips, and found that nothing whatsoever covered his rampant cock. He palmed the head, gathering the moisture that leaked profusely in his hand, before penetrating Sasuke with three fingers.

Sasuke jerked at the sting, but was too busy trying to keep his balance; Naruto had him tottering on one heeled boot, the other leg thrown over his arm. They were both standing, and the rise and fall of the ship caused Sasuke to tip and teeter. He clung to Naruto's shoulders, urging him with words and suckling on his neck to hurry.

Naruto hastily turned Sasuke around and flipped the skirts higher, exposing Sasuke's ass where it was framed by the pink corset and pink suspenders. His own cock was so hard that he could barely touch it without coming as he lined it up with the pulsing hole in front of him. He shoved forward with a grunt, began coming when he was only halfway in, and then rammed himself in balls deep. Sasuke shouted and writhed, but Naruto held his hips still as his seed roared out of him in hot release.

They were both still for a few moments. Then-

"Naruto… move, _please…_"

Sasuke squeezed his inner muscles and Naruto felt his knees go weak. The way that burning tunnel massaged his cock… Still hard, he drew back and began a furious, wet pounding that silenced Sasuke's begging.

The heels Sasuke wore tapped out a few staccato sounds as he stumbled from the force of those thrusts, but Naruto held his hips steady. Naruto came again, quite as copiously as the first time, and only then felt that the edge was taken off of his need. Barely. He paused a moment, still hard inside Sasuke, and looked around. His bed was a new, large affair, with a carved footboard that reached to his waist. He walked Sasuke to this and leaned him over it. The man would need support for what was coming.

Sasuke blacked out at feeling himself pounded, and pounded hard, at long last. It was hellacious, how good the feel of Naruto's savage cock was, at how it plunged without mercy into his ass. Over and over and over, without pause or a lessening in force or speed. The duration, the sheer length of time Naruto spent ripping him asunder only ensured that he blacked out more than once, less than a minute each time. There was pain, cleansing, healing pain. He suspected that he was bleeding.

But there was also pleasure. Such pleasure that the pain was made insignificant. This, too, had him losing sense of himself. Every inch of him was alive with sensation, pain and pleasure whipping him to a state beyond mere consciousness. He moaned ceaselessly, his mouth open and drooling. How he'd needed this the past year!

Close to two hours later Naruto came a third time and slumped against Sasuke's back. Sasuke was left wanting, quivering at the edge of release himself. He nearly swore in frustration; his cock was swollen fit to burst and gushing fluid.

He felt hot breath on his neck, and knew Naruto had lowered his face to his hair. Warm, moist lips nuzzled his ear, murmured his name. This slight stimulation aggravated his overly-sensitized condition, making him leak more fluid from his engorged tip. It joined the seed already dripping out of his ass. Naruto's cock throbbed inside him, still hard, and Sasuke reasoned that death had to be better than hovering like this on the precipice of release.

Then he felt Naruto's hand settle on his thigh. It burned, hot and sweaty on his skin. The hand kneaded his flesh a moment, before going to the back of his leg. One thick finger circled inside the top of his pink stocking, before slipping under the suspender that held it up. The finger gently pulled the suspender away from Sasuke's skin, stretching it out. That finger moved up and down along the drawn elastic slowly. Once, twice… before releasing it suddenly.

The snap and faint sting, only that, had Sasuke coming like a volcano. He shoutedand thrashed in the throes of it, bucking strongly against Naruto's hips. Naruto envisioned Sasuke's seed soiling his dress and felt himself come yet again, less than the previous times. He held Sasuke's wildly undulating body close, lest he be dislodged.

-oOo-

Afterwards, Naruto undressed him one item at a time. What was left of the jacket was carefully removed, as if sudden movements, despite their recent violent protestations to never leave the other again, would break their still-fragile reunion. The shirt beneath it was peeled off one sleeve at a time. Sasuke turned and allowed his long skirt to be unzipped, slipped down over his hips. His corset, a contraption he silently vowed then and there never to wear again, was undone and set down on the floor, along with the suspenders he'd attached to it. Naruto moved behind him to delicately pluck the pins from Sasuke's hair, those that still remained anyway, dropping his hair past his shoulders in a thick curled mass. The earrings were clip-ons and gently plucked off. Sasuke stood in his ivory boots and pink stockings, the tops of which were starting to fall down his thighs without support.

Quite suddenly he needed to feel the truth of Naruto's presence again and stepped into him. Naruto held him close, and they touched lips. Their noses rubbed slowly, gently, while their eyes remained open. Their lips touched tamely, shyly, then with gentle pressure, then one set caught the other and gave a tiny bite. Unhurriedly, their mouths opened and melded, their tongues twining about each other.

Sasuke was briefly overcome, and turned from the kiss, swallowing his emotions down with difficulty. He hadn't cried since that time with Gaara, when he'd finally begun speaking again, and he wouldn't. Not over this man.

Naruto felt his heart pick up pace with nerves at seeing Sasuke turn from him. He cupped his cheek and brought his face back to look into his eyes. Relief soothed his nerves when Sasuke didn't fight him. Had he really asked the man to save him? He felt unbalanced, shaky, and it had nothing to do with his recent activities. Still holding his face, he moved backward toward the bed, and Sasuke came with him, his heels clicking along the floor quietly.

* * *

In bed, Naruto gathered his tattered pride and shoved it out of the way. He knew now what he should have said when he'd found Sasuke again. He wouldn't let his pride or stupidity get in the way this time. "Sasuke… I love-I'm in love with you. I was… afraid… before. You're right, I was a coward. I was hurt, and angry at being hurt. I've never felt like this and… I was so afraid to lose something so wonderful that when… I…." Naruto closed his eyes briefly, shutting out the image of the steady, unsympathetic look Sasuke was giving him. "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" Here, he opened his eyes again and gathered Sasuke closer.

Sasuke let himself be held tightly, taking time to fully enjoy the feel of those firm muscles covered by warm, satiny skin. They were all around him; his legs were trapped by Naruto's and his upper body was engulfed in Naruto's arms and chest. His face was directly in front of and slightly below Naruto's so that it was easy to look deep into his eyes, which he did now. "You have no idea what I went through when you left me. What it did to me, how I changed."

Naruto swallowed. "I'd like to believe I do… I went through a nightmare myself. I was sick without you, Sasuke. Literally ill."

Sasuke went on as if Naruto hadn't spoken, now letting his gaze rest on other parts of his face, taking in new lines, remembered features, missed details. "You hurt me so much. I jumped after you, swam to you, abased myself and _begged _you. And you turned your back on me. After all we'd shared, after everything you'd shown me and made me feel, you cast me aside like refuse. Do you know how that made me feel? It was unendurable. Missing you… wanting you… needing you, but knowing you didn't feel the same… it was unendurable, but had to be endured. There were days when I wanted honestly to die. And then there were days when I knew I'd kill you if you were in front of me at the moment. There were nights I –" Sasuke paused, stopped. "As long as I can remember what you did to me, what you willingly and _willfully _did to me, I can't forgive you. Not for that, anyway. It's too fresh."

Naruto tried to nod, feeling his throat close up. He mastered himself ruthlessly, listening as Sasuke went on.

"But this isn't about forgiveness. I'm not here because I forgive what you did. I'm here because I refuse to live without you. I would have gone with you at the gala –when you made it known to me that you still wanted me- but I wanted it to be on _my _terms. And maybe I wanted you to feel rejected. Yes, it gave me a small bit of satisfaction to see the hurt on your face when you turned away."

"I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry. I made a mess, made a mistake…but I wasn't deliberately trying to hurt you."

Sasuke shifted in Naruto's arms, holding the larger man as securely as he was being held. "Just because I don't forgive that one thing you did, doesn't mean I don't want you or love you, Naruto," he said gently. He frowned slightly, trying to put his complicated thoughts into words. "It just means there are… bad feelings. Between us. I think it will take time to heal. We'll never be as we were before, as… free… with our feelings and ourselves. I think that's lost. But," Sasuke hastened to say when Naruto's face clenched painfully. "I think we've made a start. And that once we do heal, and I _am_ able to forgive, that we'll be closer than we were before."

"Closer," Naruto choked. "I don't know how much closer to you I can get. As it is, I can't live without you. I go mad when you're not around, and can't keep my hands off you when we're together. I think of you every second, dream of you at night. Any closer and I'm afraid of the-" His eyes went guiltily to Sasuke's face, skipped away.

"Of the potential to hurt each other again?" Sasuke finished. "Then you don't trust me. You still don't trust me." He pulled away from Naruto's heat, sat up. He winced immediately at the soreness in his rear, and braced his hands against the mattress to lessen the pressure on it.

Naruto sat up too. "I do trust you."

"No, you don't. It's why you left me in the first place," Sasuke said heavily, staring across the large cabin.

He was quiet for a few minutes, noticing that this steel hulled ship had less dip and sway to it as it moved across the water than _Whirlwind_. He turned to look at where Naruto was sitting up as well, leaning on one hand behind Sasuke. His head was lowered, and his face was a study in abject misery.

"Do you realize that if you'd told me of Itachi's existence when you first learned of it, that none of this would have happened? I would have had time to adjust, to come up with a solution. We could have talked it over. Instead, you sprung it on me without warning, and expected me to leave with you the next moment, without giving me so much as a few days to process it all. You should have had faith in me, Naruto. You should have believed in me, should have _trusted _me. As I used to trust you."

"Used to?" Naruto's voice was scratchy, but as yet he was still able to remain in control of his chaotic emotions. Sasuke was ripping him up inside, but what he said was true. Which was what really did the damage.

"You don't trust your feelings for me, or mine for you, so how can I trust you?"

"I… I don't know." He was losing his fight.

"And so that's another reason why forgiveness is out of the question for now."

Naruto broke. "Please," he whispered, ashamed, prideless, and stricken with grief and remorse. His tears were hot and hateful. "Please say you're not leaving? That this isn't just some means of revenge? That would be too cruel, even taking into account what I did."

Sasuke stared. _Damnit, I swore I wouldn't cry again!_ He blinked his eyes furiously, quickly pushing himself at Naruto and throwing his arms around him. "Of _course _not! I could never do such a thing, weren't you _listening? _I can't be away from you. I won't. But neither is everything fine, just because we're here. I just meant it will take work and time and… Naruto, I would never hurt you willingly! Well, not beyond what I said at the gala, and that's over with. I'll never hurt you again." He pulled Naruto against him, squeezing as hard as he could. It was like hugging a boulder. "Never."

"And… I didn't mean to hurt you either," Naruto said again jerkily. His face was buried in Sasuke's shoulder. "I mean, I thought you'd be upset when I left you in the water, after I heard you calling me, but… I thought you'd get over it and be happy with your brother. I thought… I thought you'd forget about me and what we did and think of it as dirty and… and I thought you'd be relieved to be clean and away from me and the poor way I live…"

"Oh, you stubborn, stupid fool," Sasuke whispered. He forced Naruto's face up, put their foreheads together. "You've changed me forever. I love my brother and intend to remain close and in contact with him, but I meant what I said a year ago. There's no going back for me. I _want _to live the way you live, with you, beside you. I _love _you. Do you know what that means? How could you think I'd be happy without you?"

Naruto didn't know. Looking back on it, he just didn't know. He himself had smelled hell without Sasuke. He shivered, sucking back his tears as best he could. His face hardened. "I'll never, and I mean _never_, walk out on you again. I think I need to trust myself and believe in myself before I can trust and believe in you, but it's a start as you said. I know I'll never leave you, no matter what happens."

Sasuke nodded, a small smile on his face. "Good, then. Because I meant what I said about killing you. Insufferable man."

Naruto leaned back to look into his eyes. He said deliberately, vehemently, "I love you."

"I know," Sasuke smiled. "What do you say we stop behaving like lovesick women and assert our masculinity with each other again?"

-oOo-

The crew removed their ears from the door, where they'd been pressed hard since Naruto had entered his cabin. There were wet eyes and sentimental sniffles. Then they grinned.

"I won this time," Shino announced in a loud whisper. "Pay up."

Money was good-naturedly handed over, as the sounds of Naruto and Sasuke's reconciliation started up again. They listened a moment. "I miss Neji," Chouji said. "He always had great commentary on the nightly entertainment."

* * *

Some days later, Naruto woke with a start. He turned quickly then stopped. Sasuke was there, sleeping soundly beside him. He traced one bruised, white shoulder with a caress of his fingertips. What had woken him then?

A slight movement across the room caught his attention and Naruto tensed as he turned his head. He hadn't sensed anyone, and that was unlike him.

A tall, red-haired young man stood leaning against the far wall, near the window. His legs were crossed at the ankle and he was wearing a simple white short-sleeved shirt in deference to the warmer weather their southward travels brought them. He was quite solidly built, whoever this man was, as if accustomed to doing labor of some kind. Naruto squinted through the shaft of sunlight partially obscuring the man's face… and felt his scalp prickle in shock. It wasn't a man. The height had misled him. _"Gaara?"_

Gaara uncrossed his ankles and brought his arms down from where they'd been folded across his chest. He came over to the bed slowly, giving Naruto plenty of time to notice that the kid had grown at least a foot. At the very least. Probably more. There was no mistaking those serious green eyes, though, or the neutral look he gave Naruto as he casually leaned his palms (those hands had definitely seen labor in the year he'd been on land; they were large and strong-looking now) on the footboard. He didn't mince words.

"My master's forgiven you, but I haven't. I'm here as his servant, not as a member of your crew, so don't think of ordering me around." Gaara leaned forward a bit more and his already deep voice lowered further. Naruto's muscles tightened the way they did when walking through a dangerous part of town. "And if you ever make my master cry again," Gaara hissed, "I'll kill you. Painfully." He made a rapid movement with one hand. A knife appeared, then disappeared just as quickly. Naruto had barely gotten a glimpse of the thing.

Gaara straightened up and left unhurriedly. He exited the cabin door with an inscrutable glance he threw over his shoulder at Naruto.

Naruto was left staring at the door.

-oOo-

Sasuke threatening to kill him was one thing; Naruto knew Sasuke wouldn't hurt him. Gaara was another matter. The eerie grace he'd displayed just now, the sound of his voice, deep and low, the new confidence that came with maturity… all these replayed themselves in Naruto's mind and he felt sweat bead on his brow to run down one temple. He turned and lay himself behind Sasuke, holding him close to dispel his sudden sense of unease. He would have to speak to Sasuke about possibly leaving the kid somewhere. What was he, thirteen? Fourteen? Who had that kind of height at that age, for god's sake?

_I did, _Naruto thought as he hugged Sasuke tighter. _Looks like that brat's going to be broad, too._

Looking towards his desk, he saw that breakfast was laid out. This was so reminiscent of his time with Sasuke on _Whirlwind _that Naruto was able to temporarily push Gaara from his mind. He turned his face into Sasuke's neck, and nuzzled with a playful, buzzing roar.

-oOo-

Sasuke hunched his shoulder, laughing sleepily. His eyes were shining in the bright sunlight when he rolled to attack Naruto in turn. He paused after some minutes, leaning on Naruto's chest to catch his breath. When he could breathe, he looked down at him with an attempt at a serious expression. "It was bad… When I came back. Wasn't it?"

Naruto sobered as well, remembering the night _Destiny _had left port in New York. "Yes. It was."

"We were still hurting."

"Yes."

"It's better now… isn't it?"

"Yes. Sasuke…"

"Not yet," Sasuke said, looking away. "I can't forgive you yet. Soon, I promise. I just need some time."

Naruto was silent, accepting this. He ran his hands up and down Sasuke's bare back, noting the larger physique, the greater strength. He snaked his arms around him, holding him close, waiting until the dark eyes latched onto his again. Sasuke suddenly smiled brilliantly, making Naruto's heart lurch.

"Are you saved?" Sasuke chuckled.

"I am," Naruto said piously, catching Sasuke's lighter mood. "I have been delivered from evil, made to see the _light, _praise God!"

Sasuke laughed until tears filled his eyes, squeaking as he collapsed on the wide chest a moment. "Have you found Jesus, then?"

An indignant snort left Naruto as he skillfully rolled Sasuke to his back. "Better. I found you. You saved me, Sasuke."

"Why Naruto… are you looking to sample my person?" Sasuke widened his eyes dramatically.

"As if you need to ask." He lowered and buried his face in Sasuke's jaw, nipping softly.

Sasuke arched as Naruto's mouth ran up and down the side of his neck. "You're not wearing the suit."

"It's not night time." He drew back slightly to look down into the lazy eyes. "It really excites you?"

"Says the man aroused by lacy undergarments."

The man had a point. And he'd seen for himself how wild Sasuke had gotten when he'd donned the suit. He'd had to look sharp or he would have been clawed and bitten to shreds by Sasuke's frenzied need. It was actually worse than his own reaction to women's clothes.

The ship rose and fell. Their hearts beat steadily in contentment, then in growing agitation as their stare continued.

Naruto smiled. _Now I'm fine._

_

* * *

_

Epilogue

February, a year precisely since Sasuke had come out of his stupor. Itachi sat at his desk, in his den, and re-read the letter Neji had handed him an hour ago.

_Brother,_

_My plan worked. Naruto and I are reunited. The crew performed flawlessly in distracting him long enough for me to smuggle myself and Gaara aboard. You must thank Neji for me for his assistance in acquiring a certain… wardrobe. He will know what I mean._

_We will be living in Panama for the nonce. Naruto says he will undertake a long voyage during the summer months. We will come visit you before then, and you will hear from me regularly in the meantime._

_Please don't worry about me, Itachi, as I know you probably are. This is the life I've chosen and I am gloriously happy with it. I only hope you can know the kind of joy I do someday._

_Ever yours,_

_Sasuke. _

Itachi smiled widely, folding the letter and putting it in the breast pocket of his suit coat. He bent to the correspondence he was answering once more.

-oOo-

Sometime later, Neji walked in. "My lord?"

Itachi looked up after a moment taken to brace himself. As usual, something subtle and indefinable passed between him and Neji when their eyes met. He didn't know what it was, but life with the man was slowly becoming strained. "Yes?"

"There's a woman here. She walked right in, says she's your mother? And… there's a man with her."

Itachi was already walking around his desk and out of his den. His mother? She hadn't sent any word ahead telling of her arrival. Come to think of it, he hadn't had a letter from her in over five months. He'd had no idea where she was. It had crossed his mind that perhaps she'd fallen ill and died. And what man was with her? Itachi quickened his pace, feeling Neji move silently at his back.

-oOo-

His mother was standing calmly in the foyer, holding the arm of a man Itachi's own morally corrupt father had warned him about.

"Itachi, son," Mikoto said in her low voice. "I'd like you to meet my husband and your new father. He'll be running this family from now on."

Itachi stared hard at his 'step-father' as he came forward.

"Uchiha Madara," this man intoned by way of a greeting. His eyes moved to the tall shadow standing in the entryway, correctly assessing any and all possible threats in his vicinity. "I'll want to see all your accounting books as soon as your servant there has brought me and my bride a pot of tea."

There was a glint in Madara's eyes that Itachi instinctively interpreted as a lack of humanity; this was one threat to his life he wouldn't be able to escape by staging his own death.

He held Madara's gaze while signaling to Neji to bring the tea. _Thank god Sasuke isn't here, _he thought with a suppressed shudder of sudden, visceral hatred._ I'm in enough danger now without having to worry about his safety as well._

_

* * *

_

A/N: Yup, the epilogue doubles as a sneak peek into 'Take Me' and the events therein. I have the first chapter done, but I want to complete a few more chaps before I begin submitting it. I put up on the facebook page whatever fic or chapter's coming next so you can check there if you want to know. Or those of you who have me on author alert will get a heads up. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this, **roboguy45**, and to all those who've read and shared their thoughts, a big sloppy thank you!

I like this ending better^^


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